Nine Tailed Bune Strikes Back
by Sangai-Havoc
Summary: Believed dead by Lord Phenex and Riser, Kazuhiko Bune, formerly Phenex, lives in Kuoh, Japan, with his mother's parents saving him, with his peerage. Now with the engagement between Phenex and Gremory cancelled due to Rias Gremory renouncing her family, the [Tournament of Kings] will decide her fate and provide the perfect opportunity for Kazuhiko to reveal some shocking truths.
1. Chapter 1

Here's a new idea I've been working on for a while and comes from two older ideas. The first one is based on having Kazu being a High Class devil with copying anime characters techniques for his own fighting style, kinda like White Dragon. The other is half Phenex child who left the Underworld after Riser attacks him and hides away in the human world. The first arc of this is inspired by Tournament of Kings by JungJaco and Devil Warrior: Shinji Murmur by redwarrioroflight, the latter who gave me approval to use the Tournament of King idea although there's a few changes like in regards to Sona's peerage.

I don't intend to have this as my main focus but will work on this in the background between White Dragon of Justice and Hollow Dragon Devil and probably won't be updated regularly outside of the first three chapters seeing as those are the ones I have completed so far. Anyway, hope you enjoy this.

...

The young man sighed as he finished his morning exercise, standing at five foot nine with a body of toned muscles that could fit a professional swimmer. He had medium length, chocolate brown hair which fell in choppy spikes at the back while the outer bangs of the front fell down to mouth level with a large tuft of bangs fell between his dark blue-purple eyes and just stopped above the tip of his nose, forming a noticeable M shape to his bangs which framed facial features that were an attractive mixture of Japanese and European that made him popular. He was wearing a dark orange t-shirt with black tracksuit bottoms and dark sneakers. Sitting atop of his head was a pair of fox ears while from his tailbone was nine bushy fox tails both of which were tipped with white fur.

The brunet was standing in the garden of his grandparents' home, a traditional Japanese estate that was on the outskirts of the Kuoh Town. He'd lived here for the last five years since he had been left for dead by his half brother: Riser Phenex, after he had attacked him and dragged him off into the forests around Phenex Manor. He hadn't even known about being part Kitsune as he had lost his mother when he was born with her last breathe being used to give him his name, Kazuhiko, and his father had never contacted his mother's parents either.

'Best not to think about the past.. and how much rubbish I had to deal with for not inherited the [Phenex Regeneration]..' Kazuhiko thought as he went through his warm down stretches, his ears twitching at hearing the door on the patio slide open behind him.

"M-Morning, Kazu-sama." A female voice greeted, Kazuhiko turning to offer a soft smile to the American young woman as he replied "Good morning, Sam."

Samantha Armstrong stood at five foot six with a mature, buxom figure and fair skin. She was wearing a green tight t-shirt that hugged her enormous chest with a pair of cotton shorts. Her hair was a dark jade colour and fell in curls down to her shoulders while short bangs covered her forehead. Her face was heart shaped with regal features and long eyelashes that drew focus to her amethyst coloured eyes.

The greenette stepped down onto the soft grass before moving to wrap the brunet into a tight hug, her cheeks reddening as Kazuhiko returned it and his tails moved to join in as he asked "Is everything alright?"

"Mmhmm~" Samantha replied with a slow nod, luxuriating in his embrace and feeling the softness of his tails against her skin. She always enjoyed Kazuhiko's hugs as they were strong yet comforting and perfectly warm for her to never want to leave it without great reluctance. Pulling back, Samantha found herself reminded of how she had first met with Kazuhiko as he had comforted her when she found out who her father was and the powers she had inherited from him.

"Just wanted your morning hug then?" Kazuhiko asked amused, Samantha blushing as she nodded as she added "I wanted to help you with breakfast as well."

"We could always do with a bit more help, right Diana?" Kazuhiko asked as he looked towards the door, Samantha blushing at seeing the 'Onee-sama' of their group.

Diana stood at five foot eight with an athletic yet very buxom figure with enormous breasts (larger then Samantha's own) and lightly tanned skin. Her inky black hair fell to her waist in a mane of gentle waves with the front parted in a widow's peak to frame her face, reaching down to her collarbone at the front, and violet eyes. She wore a black and white horizontally striped top that had a deep v-neck, showing off a tantalising vision of her cleavage as well as the thin straps of her lacy violet bra while also looking to nearly slip off her shoulders and showed off her toned stomach. Tight cut-off denim shorts hugged her womanly hips and full rear and even stayed up while being only held up by the zipper at the front and showed off her long toned legs were bare and flawlessly smooth.

"Of course, Kaz." Diana replied in a warm, silky tone as the pair approached. Kazuhiko helped Samantha back inside before taking off and grabbing his shoes as he spoke "Why don't you two get started while I put these away."

"Alright." Samantha and Diana replied with nods as they went on ahead.

...

A five foot eight, Welsh young woman slept sprawled out across her futon, her buxom figure in a cropped red tank top and thong. Her strawberry blonde hair fell in spikes just past her chin while thick bangs framed her face with more being towards her right. Her eyes were emerald green in colour with vertical-slitted pupils like those of a dragon and was framed by thick eyelashes.

The blonde stirred as the door of her room slid open, her eyes focusing on the Japanese young woman standing there with an amused look. She stood at five foot six with a slender figure that had ample hourglass curves that was slightly top heavy. Her dark chestnut brown hair was styled in a high ponytail that fell in a wide waterfall down to her knees at the back by an aqua blue ribbon while the front fell in a traditional hime-cut that reached her cheeks at the sides, framing her face and jewel-toned, violet eyes and delicate features of her face. She was wearing a simple and short aqua blue kimono that snugly hugged her body with a clothe belt tied around her waist. It came to a stop half way down her thighs to show off her legs while white tabi socks were on her feet.

"Come along, Rhiannon. It's time to get up." The brunette spoke gracefully, the blonde - Rhiannon - grumbling as she turned over and retorted "It's too early, Nagi. Plus it's still the holiday so there's nothing planned till later."

"Unless you want to miss, Kazu-sama's breakfast." Nagi countered with a small, amused smile as Rhiannon abruptly sat up with a hungry look in her eyes as she asked "Why didn't you tell me sooner about that?"

Nagi nimbly stepped out of the way of Rhiannon as she hurried out of the room, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled and replied to the empty room "Because its always interesting to see how quick you act, Rhian, when Kazu-sama's food is mentioned."

Nagi let her gaze sweep over the messy room before leaving to head to the kitchen/ dining room like her fellow peerage mate.

...

"About time you got here, hothead." A Japanese young woman spoke in a haughty tone to Rhiannon who had just entered the kitchen/ dining room. She stood at five foot six with tanned skin, buxom figure and extremely large breasts. She had ocean blue hair that was swept to the right and fell to her chest, obstructing the right of her seaweed green eyes. She wore a white low cut sundress that fell to mid-thigh and showed off an ample amount of cleavage along with the straps of the ocean blue bikini she was wearing underneath.

"What did you say, Princess!?" Rhiannon snapped out angrily before Kazuhiko spoke up "Rhian, Himi."

Both Rhiannon and Hiromi (the bluenette) stiffened at his voice, turning to see one of his eyes locked onto them as he added "I don't have to make sure you get along again, do I?"

The pair blushed as they recalled the last time he had to discipline them had involved locking them in a room until they literally kissed and made up with each other.

"Sorry." Hiromi and Rhiannon muttered while averting their gaze from the other, Kazuhiko silently sighing in relief as he added "Good. We don't need your arguments this early in the morning, right?"

The pair nodded in agreement as Kazuhiko turned back to cooking, his lips quirking up at seeing Diana and Samantha both stifling their giggles as they worked.

"I still marvel at how well you stop their arguments, Kazu-kun." A mature female voice spoke up, drawing attention to its owner: a five foot ten, Italian young woman in her early twenties with an athletic yet buxom figure which sported very large breasts. Her hair was a glossy black that fell to mid-back freely, while her curled bangs was parted in the middle towards her elfin ears that she inherited from her father, framing the soft features of her face and her expressive ruby red eyes. She wore a sheer black nightie that showed off her figure and stopped high on her thighs.

Kazuhiko let out a chuckle at hearing that, giving a shrug to the elfin eared ravenette as he replied "I think they just enjoy my attention sometimes, Martina."

Martina chuckled as she moved to sit down at the table near Rhiannon and Hiromi, Nagi soon entering the room being followed by the last three members of their group.

"Good morning, Lucile, Jessica, Daphne." Samantha greeted, finishing her part in making breakfast and moving to join the others at the table.

Lucile was a dark skinned young woman who stood at five foot seven with a slender yet very curvaceous figure with large breasts which was confined in a royal violet, spaghetti strapped top that clung to them while showing off her toned stomach below and dark blue Capri jeans looked painted onto her toned legs and rear. She has long, wavy and flowing dark crimson hair, gathered on the back of her head and tied in a ponytail that reaches down to her middle back with two short bangs framing her face and topaz coloured eyes.

Jessica was a six foot three tall, Texan young woman with an athletic and slender figure that sported buxom curves, olive toned skin and enormous breasts - that matched Samantha's in size. She had chestnut brown hair which was styled into two braids at the back which rested on her shoulders so they could fall down to frame her chest with loose short bangs framing her heart shaped face and dark chocolate coloured eyes. She was wearing a cut off green checkered sleeveless shirt that was ripped around the shoulders and tied just below her bust, showing a hint of her mustard coloured bikini bra and her toned stomach. Worn denim jeans started on her hips, a brown belt fastened around them, hugging her legs tightly.

Daphne was a five foot seven, beautiful, British young woman with a curvy, seductive, physique and an ample bust. She had long, hip length, silver blonde wavy hair; two shoulder-length strands of it framing her face and icy blue eyes in a parted fringe that started over her left eye. She was wearing an icy blue strapless dress that hugged her chest and had a pencil skirt that fell to mid-thigh with a wide white belt secured around her waist.

"Good morning, Sam. Thank you for helping make breakfast with Kazu-sama." Lucile spoke kindly as she sat down next to Samantha.

"Mornin' all. It smells delicious as well." Jessica greeted with a short wave and a grin before taking a seat between Rhiannon and Hiromi.

"Good morning everyone." Daphne greeted with a warm smile as she took her seat next to Nagi.

"Breakfast will be done in ten minutes." Diana answered the unasked question by the group, absently paying attention to the casual talk amongst the group as she helped Kazuhiko.

...

"Please tell me this is just a joke, Tannin?" Rykeoss Buné-Yuuki asked with a frown at the former [Dragon King]. She looked to be in her late twenties despite being much older and stood at five foot six with shoulder length black hair that fell in thick spikes around her reptilian, vertically, slitted blue eyes. She wore female pant suit with a violet blouse that hugged her buxom figure with ankle boots.

"Its the truth, Rykeoss. The Gremory heiress has fully renounced her ties to escape her marriage contract." Tannin, roughly the size of a normal person at the moment, reiterated as they sat in his home, leaning back as he continued "Lucifer stepped in and put a stop to is all by calling for a tournament to be held amongst the young [High Class] devils. He's calling it the 'Tournament of Kings' and its just a massive Rating Game free-for-all where the last one gets her and the last of her peerage as a prize along with some prize money and a title."

"What about the rest of the girl's peerage?" Rykeoss asked curiously, Tannin chuckling as he answered "Traded them to the Sitri heiress, I think. I bet she was going to join her peerage as well until Lucifer stepped in to stop it."

"So, what's this got to do with my grandson?" Rykeoss asked, Tannin grinning toothily as he explained "This is looking to be the biggest event in the Underworld in recent years and I imagine the other factions would get seats to watch this happen. Imagine what would happen if my son-in-law took to the stage and showed them about what they tried to throw away."

"You know what you're suggesting, Tannin? Kazu-kun and his peerage attending could bring up more problems then him surviving Riser-teme's attempt to kill him. This would bring to light the lack of investigation by the Elders when even back then he was the heir of the [Bune Clan] and all because he's not pure devil and that some of the Clan Heads being unable to keep it in their pants when they look down on Cambions in the first place." Rykeoss spoke seriously as she looked at Tannin, who nodded in response as he answered "You're right, Rykeoss. But if they reveal themselves then three of the Satans aren't going to stand idle about what happened to Kazu and his girls, let alone the [Strongest Queen]. Plus, you know I'd support him after helping show my Diana that not all men are lecherous bastards."

Rykeoss nodded in understanding, recalling that Diana had been rather become conscious during her teens due to her developed curves, which out matched most of her peers at that age due to her Bael heritage from her mother, and the fact that many males ogled her which had lead to the girl putting on a mask of aloofness and using her clothes to hide her body. Many had tried to win her attention because of her looks and body but thankfully her father, Tannin, had refused to make any sort of deals with them.

Meeting Kazuhiko during those troubling times had surprised Diana as she had expected much the same from him only to see him being respectful to her and treated her with kindness. Oh, Rykeoss was sure that Diana could tell that Kazuhiko was attracted to her but he didn't leer at her or stare like those, a product of Rias Gremory's misplaced scorn aimed at him. Diana had watched him for a few days before making her mind up on pursuing him as her mate which lead to them sparring and Kazuhiko helping her refine her power and giving suggestions for ideas before Diana finally asked to join his peerage.

Rykeoss sighed as she mulled over her options, shaking her head as she spoke "I'll let him know about it but I'm not going to talk him into it. They have been living peacefully under the nose of that stupid Gremory bint and I have no sympathy for what she's going through after some of the things she's said to Kazu-kun from what she has told me."

"I wouldn't expect him to enter to save her myself. If I was involved I'd just trade her to Riser Phenex for retribution but I'd say Kazu is more likely to trade her to the Sitri heiress." Tannin agreed with a nod, Rykeoss snorting in amusement at the first idea before nodding at the latter.

"When's this tournament happening?" Rykeoss asked curiously, wondering how long her grandson would have to think before making a choice as Tannin answered "Six days."

At hearing that Rykeoss stood up to leave, a thoughtful look on her face as she spoke "I'll return soon so we can continue our business Tannin."

"That's fine... I knew this would become important when I brought it up. Just let me know if he's going to enter as I want to enjoy the fireworks." Tannin answered with a toothy grin before Rykeoss disappeared in a violet magic circle, rolling her eyes.

...

"Jiisan, what are you doing back so soon?" Kazuhiko spoke surprised as his grandfather walked into the living room, where he, Jessica and Lucile had been watching [One Punch Man]. His grandfather was a tall Japanese man, about six foot tall, with a muscular runner's build with messy spikes of auburn hair and golden brown eyes. He was wearing a Shinto Priest's outfit which fitted with his duties as being a higher up of the Yokai Faction and also someone who at times met with Amaterasu-Okami and the other Shinto Deities. Atop of his head was two fox ears while nine bushy tails trailed behind him, much like his grandson.

"Baasan called me to come back, there's something important she needs to tell you. Can you please gather the rest of your peerage?" He answered, wondering what may happen if he accepted the role of being one of Amaterasu's guards for the [Tournament of Kings] that was coming up. Kazuhiko nodded and soon left the room, Lucile and Jessica moving to help him before the elder Kyuubi saw his wife emerge from a magic circle in the living room.

"Thanks for returning ahead of me, Tatsumi-kun." Rykeoss spoke, leafing through several pieces of paper, "I wanted to be sure of everything about this tournament before bringing it up to Kazu-kun."

"It's fine. Amaterasu-sama wants me to act as one of her guards for when she attends it." Tatsumi replied with a wave of his hand, Rykeoss nodding in understanding as her husband asked "Do you think he will enter?"

"I don't know... but I hope not." Rykeoss answered with a frown as the pair sat down on one of the sofas in the room, "I know from both of our training of them and what they did with Tannin that Kazu-kun and the girls can hold their own against most of the young devils but revealing themselves will incite the Elders to try and act against him even if they win, even with the allies they could gain."

Tatsumi nodded in understanding, sensing Kazuhiko and his peerage returning as he spoke "That's true, but don't you think its time for the truth to come out Rye-chan."

"What's this about, Baa-san, Jiisan?" Kazuhiko asked once he and his peerage had sat down on the remaining two of the large sofas before Rykeoss started to explain about the tournament and what Rias Gremory had done, also including the pros and cons for entering such a thing.

The reactions she had gotten were expected for Rykeoss. Diana, Rhiannon and Hiromi all looked particularly pleased at hearing that Kazuhiko's ex-fiancee was a prize for the tournament while Samantha, Jessica and Martina were frowning as if unsure whether to approve of such treatment. Lucile, Daphne and Nagi were sharing thoughtful looks as if possibly thinking up some sort of plan. Kazuhiko's reaction was a conflicted look between faint approval for Rias' fate and dislike at the tournament using a young woman as a prize.

"I can't believe Lucifer would go so far to ensure heiresses stay trapped in their marriage contracts..." Kazuhiko commented, Rykeoss' eyes widening in realisation as Daphne nodded "Looks that way."

"What are you two on about?" Jessica asked confused, Daphne smiling at the nod from Kazuhiko as she stood up and started to explain "If Sirzechs Lucifer allowed his sister to renounce her titles to get free of the marriage contract what's to stop others from doing the same thing?"

"Nothing... I'd imagine that several would do such if they were in similar situations." Lucile commented, Daphne nodding as she continued "Exactly."

"Lucifer created the tournament to show the other heiresses what will happen if they try and renounce themselves from their clans." Kazuhiko continued, Diana looked horrified as she commented "And with Riser being able to enter and his track record, its practically handing her back to him unless someone beats his group."

"As a Phenex, he can regenerate from most injuries so this 'endurance battle' is ideal for him to win, even if he does just hold up in some safe corner till the end stages." Daphne added with a nod.

"How can none of them see this?" Martina spoke up shocked, Kazuhiko shrugging as he replied "I assume its cause of how the tournament is advertised as one to find the strongest young devil team rather then a tournament to win Rias Gremory - former heiress. She's just been degraded to part of the prize for the tournament."

"So, are we entering or not?" Rhiannon asked with a scowl, Hiromi sharing the expression as she added "As much as I'd like to leave the bitch to her fate... getting one over Riser Phenex and Sirzechs Lucifer would be worth it in my opinion."

Kazuhiko smiled slightly at seeing the nods from the rest of his peerage. He had explained to them all, in broad terms, about how Riser had been spreading rumours and lies about him to Rias when he was originally engaged to her. That Sirzechs had eaten up such lies himself from his little sister without bothering to check hadn't surprised Kazuhiko back then and had resulted with arguments between the two Clans that ended up deciding that he would become Rias' [Queen] when she got her [Evil Pieces] rather then get his own set of pieces as he was allowed to do. Riser's attack had probably came at the opportune moment and allowed for him to use the dregs of his magic he had left from the fight to teleport himself to the human world where he was found by his grandparents soon afterwards.

"I agree, they need to learn the truth." Nagi spoke up with a nod, Lucile chiming in as well "We can always trade Rias to someone else after the tournament."

Rykeoss smiled as she watched this happen as even though Kazuhiko was the [King] the girls all could freely add in their own opinions. Glancing back, she saw Tatsumi smiling approvingly even as Kazuhiko added "Alright. We'll enter but I don't want them recognising us in case something goes wrong and we don't win."

"We'll wear masks and costumes, Kazu-sama. That way we can avoid tipping any of them off about us." Daphne pointed out with a smirk at the nods of the others.

"Alright. If that's your choice..." Rykeoss spoke, smiling at the idea of possible surprises they were planning for the rest of the Underworld, "Then I'd prefer you enter under the name of Bune, I can watch and record their reactions first hand and it will give you some more protection as you are my heir."

...

Kazuhiko, his peerage and his grandparents appeared out of the magic circle in a vast garden of an estate, Tatsumi taking the lead as the caster of the magic circle as he spoke as if continuing an earlier conversation "I'm sure my niece knows someone who can make appropriate battle outfits for the tournament."

"I know, love, but if its found out they helped them it might be viewed as the Yokai Faction favouring one group in the tournament." Rykeoss retorted as she walked next to her husband. Diana and Kazuhiko sharing an amused look as they followed them, the latter noticing the rest of his peerage sharing amused looks as well while enjoying their scenery.

"It'll be fine." Tatsumi replied as he waved her off, "How can the devils not expect me to help my grandson when they learn of who he is?"

"Oji-san! Oba-san!" A energetic young girl's voice called as a blonde blur slammed into Tatsumi's legs as he reached down to pat her head as he replied "Hey, Kunou-chan."

"Hello, Kunou-chan." Rykeoss greeted with a smile, getting a happy nod from the blonde who moved to hug Kazuhiko with a cry of "Onii-sama!" the moment she spotted him.

"Hey Kunou-chan." Kazuhiko greeted, pulling Kunou onto his shoulders as the blonde greeted each of his peerage. He had spent a good time in Kyoto under Kunou and her mother's tuition to learn to use his [Senjutsu] and [Youjutsu] when his grandfather was busy with the elders of the Yokai Faction.

"Hello Oji-san, Oba-san." Yasaka greeted as she approached with a warm smile before turning to Kazuhiko, "Kazu-kun. Girls, I hope you've been keeping him out of trouble."

"Of course." Rhiannon retorted with Hiromi, the pair sharing a glare soon after as Jessica chirped in "He's been keep us out of trouble as well."

Yasaka chuckled as she saw Kazuhiko pout at the tall redhead before she turned to her uncle and asked "What brings you here, Oji-san?"

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of the [Tournament of Kings], Yasaka-chan, Kazu-kun and the girls want to enter but need appropriate outfits and masks for it." Tatsumi explained, Yasaka frowning at Kazuhiko as he blurted out an answer to her unasked question "I'm not doing it for Gremory but to get back at Riser and Lucifer."

"We wouldn't have let him enter if it was for something like going after the idiotic half sibling of mine, Yasaka-sama." Lucile added seriously, Yasaka's features softening before she nodded, glad that young man she thought as a nephew wasn't doing it for the girl who had scorned him.

"So, outfits and masks?" Yasaka asked curiously, Diana smirking as she explained "We don't want them to figure out who we are till its too late to stop things. Plus if we do lose before then we'll be able to avoid trouble when we leave."

Yasaka nodded in understanding, a mischievous smile forming on her lips as she clapped her hands together and replied "I know just the people to help then."

Kazuhiko gulped as he recognised that smile as something that Yasaka and his peerage would be able to use to tease him about by the end of it, especially as the girls gave him similar smiles.

...

Kazuhiko sighed as he found himself outside of the conversation about what sort of outfits they should have for the tournament, Martina have patted him on his head as she said to leave it to them. He had tried to point out he would need to talk about his own clothes only for Diana to say they would have a team uniform albeit altered for each of them. He'd been measured first for their uniform as well due to being the only male of the group.

"Don't worry about it, Kazu-kun. I'm sure the girls know what they are doing." Tatsumi spoke as he sat next to his grandson watching Rykeoss talking to the small group of tailors with Diana, Daphne and Martina while the others were getting measured up.

"But what if they force me into something that looks funny or weird." Kazuhiko grumbled, Yasaka letting out a giggle as she replied "I'm sure they won't do that, Kazu-kun."

"Your Baa-san will avoid something like that happening, Kazu-kun." Tatsumi added with a pat on his shoulder.

Kazuhiko took a calming breathe as he decided to use the time productively as he focused on practising with his Senjutsu. He had a pretty good grasp on it already but figured it could do with improving as he was very good with his fire magic as he had indulged his inner otaku as a child and copied the [Vongola Flames] from [Katekyo Hitman Reborn] along with a dozen other techniques from other flame using anime characters. It had been a bit embarrassing to reveal that most of his training before he met his grandparents consisted of him recreating moves but they had both explained how useful having a reserve of moves to use on an opponent would be for him. He had used his way with training to help each of the girls, after Diana had found it fun when he first pointed out a couple characters that might help her.

Taking a slow breathe, Kazuhiko started his practice by sensing the auras of the others in the room before turning to sense the flow of [Ki] in himself. He could use [Senjutsu] in battle but this slow routine was how he had been taught to train with it and to increase his resistance to the malice he could absorb through any [Chakra] taken in. Tatsumi and Yasaka had told Kazuhiko that most Yokai learnt it when they were young and that it never really turned off for those who could use it which meant his father had been an idiot as Kazuhiko could have gone berserk through not knowing what to do about any malice he had absorbed.

It had taken a while to work out how he hadn't built up any while being in the Underworld but they had come to believe that recreating the [Sky Flame] in its entirety had meant that the [Harmony Factor] within had absorbed the building malice inside of him when he was training with it and now that he had learnt to use [Senjutsu] they would naturally be more geared towards purifying due to not having to deal with malice being inside of him unless Kazuhiko focused his will on what he wanted them to do with its factor. The part Kyuubi had turned his private studies into seeing if he could combine [Senjutsu] with his flames but results weren't concrete yet for him to use them in a battle.

"... Kazu-kun?" Martina's voice brought the brunet back to the moment, wondering when he had closed his eyes while working on sensing his Senjutsu. The smile on the young woman's face and her closeness made Kazuhiko blush as he realised she was straddling his lap, the other young women of his peerage looking amused to various degrees as Rhiannon reiterated "We're done, Kazu."

"Oh... That's good then." Kazuhiko replied, trying to act natural despite the bright blush on his face.

"We'll have to come back in a few days to ensure everything fits." Diana added, Kazuhiko nodding as Martina got up so they could leave.

...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Gods and Goddesses, Devils, Angels and Yokai! Welcome to the TOK; the Tournament of Kings!" The announcer boomed throughout the stadium and triggering a roar of eagerness from the crowd, "Today every young devil in the Underworld will fight in a free-for-all, battle royal not only for your entertainment but also for three fabulous prizes."

"The tournament is simple; the last [King] standing wins! We have fifty teams of various devils with a wide range of powers, abilities and skills competing in this tournament! The winner will win the hand of this fair maiden!" The announcer spoke, motioning towards a large image of Rias that appeared doing a sexy pose, wolf whistles coming from the male in the crowd as the announcer continued "Besides having Rias Gremory as a servant, the winner of the tournament will win a sizeable fortune that would allow a person to retire and live comfortably for three life times but most of all they will gain the prestige and honour of the illustrious title: [King of Kings]."

...

"What a petty tournament." Rias snarked drily from where she sat in the VIP section. Since she had been partly responsible for the tournament's creation and she was the prize, Rias was allowed to watch the tournament in the large VIP section as long as she behaved herself. With the former Gremory heiress was the four Yondai-Maou, the Gremory Clan: Rias' parents (Zeoticus and Venelana) and her nephew (Millicas), Lord and Lady Phenex along with their heir Ruval Phenex and daughter, Ravel, and Lord and Lady Sitri.

Rias saw that a few gods had come to personally watch the tournament. Odin the All-father of the Norse Faction; an elderly man with long, grey hair and a matching beard with an eye-patch over his left eye.

Indra from the Hindu Faction was a young man with a buzz-cut hairstyle and was wearing circular sunglasses, an aloha shirt and pants with a pair of loafers. He was accompanied by Sun Wukong and Yu-Long.

Amaterasu, from the Shinto Faction, was also there. She was a beautiful woman with delicate features. She had extremely long, raven black hair that fell to her chalves while her eyebrows were cut short to show her divine nobility. She wore a high collared regal kimono which was adorned with the colours of the sun in a tasteful pattern. Sat on one side was a familiar looking man (Tatsumi) who was dressed in a Shrine Priest outfit and had his Kyuubi features on full display.

Sitting on Tatsumi's other side was Rykeoss, who was wearing a black business suit with a violet shirt. Rias wasn't sure who she was but the fact she was getting nervous looks from her brother and other Maou made her worried while Tannin sat on his other side with a smirk on his lips.

The crowd that had gathered was enormous and the tournament was being broadcast throughout the entire Underworld and several other realms where leaders willingly paid the ridiculous amounts to watch the tournament at home because they were too lazy to come here (the Greek, Roman, Celtic, Egyptian, Chinese, Angel and Fallen Angel all falling under this category). It was a tournament were everyone had put aside their differences to watch the young devils practically kill each other though no lives would actually be lost.

"I think this'll be pretty exciting." Sirzechs spoke with a grin, attempting to make his sister warm up to him after what he had done. It faltered at seeing Rias' unhappy scowl at him, Sirzechs turning to watch as the announcer's voice continued for the audience "Now let's go to some of the contestants that we interviewed only moments ago."

The screen behind the man changed to show Riser Phenex who arrogantly smirked as the interviewer asked "Riser Phenex, you are favoured to win due to your experience in the Rating Game. You were also originally engaged to Rias Gremory before she denounced herself. How do you feel about this tournament?"

"Wife or servant, it doesn't matter. She will be mine as she should have been and no ridiculous tournament is going to prevent that." Riser said arrogantly causing Rias to shake in anger where she sat.

The screen changed to a new contestant before the interviewer asked as he held his microphone up "Sairaorg Bael! You are rumoured to be the strongest of the new generation of devils. What do you have to say about the tournament!?"

"This tournament was created because of the corruption and greed of others. I will win this tournament and I will right the wrong." Sairaorg said, crossing his arms with a stern expression on his face. The screen changed again to show Sona Sitri as a different interviewer asked "Sona Sitri! You are Rias' best friend and you were there when the tournament was declared! What is your opinion?"

"This tournament is despicable! Rias Gremory was forced into a loveless engagement so she renounced her family and status. Even after all that they wouldn't let her go free and created this tournament to enslave her to their politics and greed. The Gremory, the Phenex and everyone else involved should be ashamed. I will win this tournament for my friend." Sona answered angrily.

"Your friend sure is harsh." Sirzechs spoke, looking nervously to his sister as Grayfia asked "Do they want to start a riot?"

"It's only the truth." Rias countered dryly.

"We've tried to get an interview with Rias herself but unfortunately we were denied." The announcer spoke sadly, Rias shooting a glare at her brother as she retorted "And the reason why is sitting right next to me."

"Let's go to one more contestant!" The announcer said and the screen changed once again. The group shown consisted of a young man surrounded by nine young women. He was wearing a yellow fox-like half mask that left his mouth visible and covered his eyes in black glass, a tight, black top that ended in tight fitting, finger-less gloves with silver metal over his knuckles with a black, sleeveless mini-jacket that stopped at the bottom of his ribs and had orange piping. Black leather pants hung slightly loose on his legs with a silver studded belt wrapped around the top and tucked into sturdy black boots. Each of the young women wore a half mask as well.

"My name...I suppose for now you can call me Tsuna Bune. As for why I chose to enter this 'tournament', well... I'll keep that a secret for now." Kazuhiko spoke hiding his own amusement in his tone, aside from the small smirk on his lips, at no one recognising him with a simple mask on. Rias' eyebrows rose as she felt something familiar about that name and recognisable in 'Tsuna's' voice.

"And your thoughts on the tournament, Tsuna-san?" The interviewer asked curiously, Kazuhiko's smirk growing as he started to answer "This tournament... is just a means to scare heiresses of the Pillar Clans into following through with barbaric marriage contracts that they don't agree to. Such a shame that Maou Lucifer seems to have lost his vaunted Gremory kindness to such a degree that he has to use his own little sister as a example for going against their Elders. Of course, it doesn't stop me from wondering if he would force a marriage contract onto his own son, like Lord Gremory did to his daughter, especially as the one who was originally contracted to the heiress, and would have been forced into servitude as her [Queen] because Maou Lucifer believed baseless lies, died at the hands of Riser Phenex - the teller of those lies and the same person she now gave up everything to get away from as he became the youngest son of Phenex to fit that part of the contract."

Sirzechs flinched as he realised how his actions could have been viewed now especially with regards to Rias, Grayfia tightening her hold on her son as she also realised what 'Tsuna' was saying while Rias' mouth dropped open and a wave of shock rippled through the devils in the VIP room. There wasn't a day that went by which Sirzechs regretted the actions he had taken against Kazuhiko because he believed what Rias had told him Riser had said, without reason or proof. Especially so after Riser revealed his true colours to his sister. Sirzechs also hadn't seen much need at the time in investigating what Riser had said would happen after the Elders had believed him, despite it happening on Phenex territory near their manor.

"Lies!" Lord Phenex hissed in anger as he glared at the masked young man on the screen, turning to Rykeoss as she spat "Where did your brat come up with such blatant lies, Rykeoss!?"

"I only came because I was informed someone was using the Bune name, Reginald" Rykeoss retorted, levelling a glare on the man as she added "Also do not speak to me familiarly either after refusing to let me see my grandson and even being willing to enslave him to a child who obviously couldn't see truth from fiction."

Rias gulped in realisation as well as Rykeoss' glare shifted to her, the redhead looking to her brother with a wary look that pierced his heart before she turned back to the screen. She'd been told that Kazuhiko had died at the hands of an assassin who'd been sent after him for some unknown reason but if the masked man was to be believed it only revealed to her how dangerous Riser could be especially with the threats he had spewed at her before while Grayfia was around. She felt a surge of anger at herself as she realised that she hadn't liked Kazuhiko due to things she'd heard Riser lie about despite them spending time when they were kids. The mere fact that Riser changed the moment that he was declared her fiancee now should have been a giant warning sign of what the blond was capable of to get what he wanted and that she would have been much better with Kazuhiko, even if he did end up with an all female peerage.

'Damn, Kazu-kun really knows how to speak sharp words with just the truth. He's definitely going to make things interesting if just by entering.' Tannin thought impressed as he watched the unfolding drama. Amaterasu smiled as she saw Tatsumi and Rykeoss share a pleased smirk with each other.

Venelana glared at her husband, making him shrink, at the idea that he had contracted their daughter to a violent man while Ravel Phenex looked to be on the verge of tears at hearing the truth as she glared at her father, who flinched away as if struck, at losing the brother that was closest to her and how her father hadn't seen it fit to perform a properly investigation especially after going to where Kazuhiko had died to not find a body at all.

"Onii-sama..." Ravel cried at the thought of losing Kazuhiko due to Riser's jealousy, hugging her mother tightly and letting herself be calmed by her soothing words as Ruval glared at his pale faced father at realising the trouble he would have to deal with if 'Tsuna's' words were true.

"I-I've just got the word! The tournament is about to start! Almost the entire underworld is focused on this massive free-for-all battle! Are you ready for the biggest arena battle in history!? I hope you are all ready for the battle to win this maiden's heart!" The announcer said, visibly shaken from watching the interview while the audience looking ready for a bloodbath as he continued, "Now let the tournament BEGIN!"

...

Sona Sitri and her peerage waited in their war room for the tournament to start. Her gaze drifted to the former members of Rias' peerage: Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba and Koneko Toujou who were all tense as she spoke "Don't worry. We have a foolproof plan and we'll win Rias."

Bolstered by Sona's words the three nodded in agreement. They knew that the whole tournament was basically a battle of stamina so whoever lasted the longest would win. Sona knew her group wasn't the most powerful but she didn't need strength to win. Even if she would fail, she had a backup plan in place to ensure Rias' safety.

The moment the giant magic circle appeared in the centre of the room, they knew that it was time for the tournament to start. The group stepped into the magic circle with Saji being the last one before they was engulfed in the magical shine that transported them to the massive arena. The arena was a bowl shaped valley with a thick forest around the giant stadium in the centre.

'With this terrain, my strategy should work even better.' Sona thought before looking around as she spoke "Alright. Let's find a suitable base of operations first."

"Once that's done. Tsubaki, Akeno, Yuuto and Saji, set up the traps." Sona added, getting nods back before everyone turned at the massive explosion of black energy with violet flame edges shot across the arena, destroying anything it came into contact with. It hit the edge of the barrier and engulfed one of the mountains. The barrier shimmered slightly before it returned to normal.

"Teams 12, 17, 22, 27, 29 and 32 retired." The moderator announced to everyone in the arena, shock laced into his voice.

"W-What the hell was that!?" Saji asked almost shaking in terror. Sona was just as surprised as the others. Conjuring such a vast beam of total devastation would take a lot of energy and that worried Sona. She knew that there should be no one in this tournament with that kind of power involved.

"I didn't know someone that powerful would be in the arena." Sona muttered to herself very concerned. If someone like that were to get in her way it would ruin her plans and Rias would suffer for it. At first the only one she was concerned about beating was Riser given he had a [Queen] level peerage and already had Rating Game experience. But now another strong opponent had shown him/herself.

"How foolish... They've just made themselves a target and I bet that took a lot of energy." Tsubaki stated, Sona nodding in agreement as she added with a smile "We will stick to the plan. Hopefully they will defeat more teams and wear himself down."

"So we wait and pick them off one by one." Akeno concluded, coming to the same conclusion that their plan would be easier if everyone's focus was directed elsewhere. Kiba smiled bitterly at disliking the plan but knowing that it was the best way to win while Koneko stared at where the enormous attack had struck, wondering when they might run into the person who unleashed that attack.

...

Kazuhiko sighed as he sat in his own war room, his half mask in his hand as Daphne spoke up pleased "Your delivery was great during the interview, 'Tsuna-sama'."

Each of the young women of his peerage were dressed in near identical uniform which consisted of a black leather leotard that had short sleeves and a turtleneck, a black leather, short sleeved mini-jacket that had piping in their preferred colour, tight shorts, finger-less gloves that covered up to their elbows and knee high boots along with their own mask. Each outfit had spells that made the outfits tougher, regulated the temperature of the wearer, allow them full range of movement and even allowed them to repair themselves with the help of the wearer's magic.

Daphne was wearing a white masquerade mask that looked like snowflakes had been stuck together while her jacket had icy blue piping and her shorts were a dark blue. Her silver hair was styled in a plait down her back with an icy blue ribbon at the end to hold it together.

"Tou-san is probably holding in the laughter at the chaos you caused." Diana spoke up with a smile. Diana's half mask was dragon-like in shape and a dark violet colour, the same dark violet on the piping of her jacket while the turtleneck was unzipped down to her ample cleavage due to its size. Her shorts were dark purple as well and dark gold armour covered the back of the elbow-length finger-less gloves.

"I wonder what sort of teams we'll go up against." Martina spoke up with a curiously in between sips of her tea. Martina's half mask was a pale yellow and v-shaped like two lightning bolts. Her uniform had gold piping over the jacket and also had the leotard unzipped like Diana's but had white shorts.

"We did all look through the files Bune-sama supplied us, Martina-san." Nagi chimed in calmly. Nagi's half mask was decorated like a geisha's while her jacket had royal blue piping, a wide brown belt was looped around her aqua blue shorts and sheathed on her left hip was two katanas in black leather that had royal blue tribal patterns down their length. Her hair was in its usual high ponytail with a royal blue ribbon holding it in place.

"Yeah, but just reading files isn't going to clue us in on how they'll react when they face us." Jessica retorted with a pout. Jessica had a bumblebee striped half-mask with little wings sticking out of the top while a bright yellow coloured her shorts and jacket piping. In addition, she had a small waist cape of the same colour that fell to her knees at the back. Her chestnut brown hair was left to fall loose down her back.

"She's right, Nagi." Kazuhiko spoke up, sparing a look at the others, "While we know the general abilities our opponents use, how they'll use them or how they have improved for this is unknown. So, we'll just have to do our best and remember, there's no shame in relying on each other."

"Hai 'Tsuna-sama'." The girls called together, smiles on their faces at him taking charge of their group.

"Good motivation speech, 'Tsuna-sama'." Lucile spoke with an approving smile. Lucile had a masquerade mask that was made out of black lace with royal purple colouring that made it look like a butterfly. She had crimson piping on her jacket and had a short crimson skirt instead of shorts which had a gold belt was wrapped around her waist, made out of gold hoops.

Hiromi had a ocean blue eye-mask on her face with her fringe remaining in place while the back of her hair was styled into a side ponytail by a turquoise hair tie. She had aqua blue piping on her jacket with matching shorts.

Rhiannon wore a flame patterned half mask on her face while her jacket had flame patterned decal over the back and fiery orange piping which both were copied onto her shorts as well.

Samantha had a metal eye-mask moulded to her face in a V-shape. She had silver piping on her jacket, an armoured emerald skirt and metal gauntlets on her hands in place of her finger-less gloves. Her hair had been styled in a low ponytail to keep it out of her face.

Kazuhiko was sure he would have been blushing up a storm if hadn't seen it before due to how it clung to their figures and the girls had taken to walking around the estate wearing them so they could adjust to them.

"Looks like it's time." Kazuhiko spoke as he noticed a giant magic circle appearing in the middle of the room. The group moved to stand on it, Kazuhiko being at the front with Diana at his side. The magic circle shone brightly, transporting them to the massive arena and to a random place as it did with all different teams to make sure things were fair. The [Bune] peerage found that they had been transported near to another group and as soon as that group noticed, they charged towards them.

"Shall we start with a bang?" Kazuhiko asked Diana, getting a nod from the ravenette as they both put their opposing hands forwards - his right and her left - a ball of violet [Cloud Flames] in Kazuhiko's hand while a orb of black energy appeared in Diana's. They merged the two orbs of magic together as they took aim and spoke together "Unison Raid: Blazing Destruction Overload: Cloud!"

The massive beam of black energy with violet flame edging made the team before them vanish, the [Cloud Flames] multiplying the power of Diana's [Power of Destruction] fuelled [Darkness Overload] by its [Propagation] factor and turning the modest sized attack into a monster of an attack without the extra power cost.

[Teams 12, 17, 22, 27, 29 and 32 retired.] The moderator announced to everyone in the arena, shock laced into his voice as Kazuhiko and Diana relaxed and lowered their hands. Jessica and Rhiannon both let out impressed whistles at the amount of destruction their [King] and [Queen] could unleash without much effort before Lucile asked "What is warranted to cause that much damage this soon?"

"The quicker we take out the other teams, the shorter this tournament is going to be." Diana answered in a cool tone, a signal that her cool mask had slipped on now that they were under the gaze of people she didn't know. It was a front to keep men who would try and flirt with her away and only came down with people she trusted.

"We should make a move before other teams come here to find us." Kazuhiko suggested, leading the group into the forest.

...

Rias watched uninterested as the screens showed teams arriving in the arena, a smile briefly flittering onto her lips momentarily at seeing Sona's team, her own peerage amongst them, appear as well. She knew that this fight would be long and drawn out with the number of teams involved until she witness the massive blast that ripped its way across the screen in front of her. Sitting up in shock, Rias' mouth dropped open as the moderator announced that six teams had been retired as she blurted "What the hell was that?"

Sirzechs could only blink in surprise as he didn't know any of the teams had the power to unleash such an attack, Rias' eyes widening as the camera took a moment to readjust before showing the pair who unleashed such power. Their forms were covered by the dust and smoke and the only light coming through it was black and violet. Once the smoke cleared everyone was shocked at seeing it was Tsuna Bune and the most buxom of his peerage who had unleashed such power, mouths dropping as they watched the orb of violet edged black energy and violet ball of flames disperse from the pair's outstretched hand.

"Grayfia, make sure they reinforce the game field and have the moderators watch that particular group as well. We don't want any causalities and I want to know what they can do especially if that woman has the [Power of Destruction]." Sirzechs whispered to his wife, slightly amused.

'Did they combine their powers? Neither of them looks like they're even tired from unleashing that attack?' Rias thought shocked, the announcer starting to regain his composure as he spoke "T-This is amazing! Team fifty, the Bune Team, has just eliminated six teams in mere seconds! Who are these mysterious devils?"

Unknown to the team themselves, they had just became the focus for those watching. The complete silence so that the whole stadium could hear what was being said amongst its members. Many wondering how [King] and [Queen] could combine their powers in such a way to cause such destruction and not be tired from it.

Over the next hour, seven other groups appeared at the spot where the [Unison Raid] was unleashed, giving the audience a battle between them. In the end four teams retreated while the other three were eliminated. Other small skirmishes broke out during the remainder of the day but no other teams were eliminated.

...

"I found a cabin ahead, Tsuna-sama." Nagi spoke after reappearing, Kazuhiko having sent her on ahead to scout about for any potential enemies near by.

"Do you think its safe?" Samantha asked, Kazuhiko looking to Diana, Lucile and Daphne as they had taken the time to learn the whole rules as Lucile answered "It might be. Each day the teams are given food, water and, depending on how they do, a safe house to sleep in."

"They are encouraging everyone to fight then?" Jessica asked, Hiromi nodding as she retorted "They don't want this thing to last weeks, do they? Otherwise everyone would just find a place to hold up and set tons of traps to catch anyone out there."

"S'pose your right..." Jessica mused as they approached the cabin. It was a modest two storey building made out of wood although it was no doubt reinforced to be safe for them to use although was stuck out in a clearing that would mean a good ambush if they were caught unaware.

"Daphne..." Kazuhiko started turning to the blonde, "How long does your ice last without your input?"

Daphne smirked as she understood what Kazuhiko was thinking as she answered "Long enough for what you're thinking, Tsuna-sama. I can even have them alert us if they spot something."

"Good. Set up a patrol around the cabin. Even if its supposed to be safe, I don't imagine it would stop others from waiting and surprising us." Kazuhiko asked as he looked around, Daphne nodding as she held her fist over the palm of her other hand in a familiar stance before speaking "Ice Make: Mice!"

Out of the icy blue magic circle that formed, dozens of mice made out of ice scurried off into the surrounding trees to set up where they would scout from, Daphne deciding to explain to the others "They'll keep an eye out and alert whoever is awake if someone is coming."

"So we'll be doing shifts tonight?" Martina asked with a pout, Kazuhiko nodding as Diana answered "It's for the best. We don't want to be caught by surprise."

"There's no traps here." Rhiannon spoke from inside of the cabin, Kazuhiko shaking his head in exasperation as he had come to expect for the half-dragon blonde to be reckless.

"I can't believe you, fire crotch!" Hiromi raged as she stomped into the cabin after the redhead, Kazuhiko sighing at the argument that started to rage inside before he shouted inside "Quiet! We'll settle this inside."

With that the rest of the team entered the cabin, soon finding a note to say they had a eight hour barrier over it for them to rest and dine in peace.

...

Author's Note

I figure I should put down here the altered Sona's peerage and who I used as models for Kazu's peerage as well although I won't put what pieces they are for the moment.

Sona's Peerage:

Queen: Tsubaki Shinra

Bishops: Momo Hanakai and Akeno Himejima

Knights: Tomoe Meguri and Yuuto Kiba

Rooks: Tsubasa Yura and Koneko Toujou

Pawns: Genshirou Saji (x4) and Ruruko Nimura (x1)

Kazu's peerage:

Diana: Manami Katsura - School Days

Martina: Mikumo - Kenichi

Daphne: Irina Jelavic - Assassination Classroom

Nagi: Ikaruga - Senran Kagura

Jessica: Boa Hancock - One Piece

Hiromi: Yurishia Farandole - Masou Gakuen HxH

Rhiannon: Angelica Ainsworth - Fate/ kaleid liner Prisma Illya

Lucile: Seri Awashima - K/ K:Missing King

Samantha: Mirei Shikishima - Valkyrie Drive

Anyway, the pairing for this is just those of Kazu's peerage, current and future, at the moment given Kazu's past.

Only other thing I'll add at the moment is I'm not too sure about how Senjutsu works in DxD so have looked into Naruto's version a little just to settle down on what Kazuhiko can do with it but won't be shown till the third chapter given that he's hiding who he is from the audience/ Lords and Elders.


	2. Chapter 2

Time for the second chapter as I had to tweak a few bits due to errors I noticed, anyway enjoy.

...

Sona Sitri stood at the mouth of the cave she and her peerage had set up base in, watching the artificial sunrise as she reflected on the previous night. They had spent the entire day before setting up traps and mirrors, the latter from Tsubaki's Sacred Gear [Mirror Alice] for her plan to win the tournament. The night had been spent with each of them staying away in shifts to allow them to avoid being surprised if someone stumbled upon their hiding place.

"Kaichou..." Koneko spoke up, drawing the bespectacled young woman's gaze to her as she asked "Is everything alright, Koneko?"

"Saji, is nearly done with the second group." Koneko answered, Sona nodding her thanks as she headed into the cave to find the important member of her plan. Her plan was based around the Sacred Gear Genshirou Saji wielded: [Absorption Line] which allowed him to absorb or distribute power through tongue-like appendages. With the aid of Tsubaki's mirrors, Saji would send his lines through them and catch the teams nearby, draining their members of power before distributing it to herself and the rest of the peerage.

Saji was sitting cross legged at the back of the cave, about a dozen lines from his Sacred Gear entering into several mirrors around him. They had caught two teams during the night and Saji had been slowly draining them of power to force them to retire.

"These groups are... done, Kaichou." Saji spoke as he finished, retiring the two enemy peerages which were soon announced to the others. The sandy blond's eyes scanned the mirrors as he looked for another target, soon shooting a set of his lines into another mirror as he chimed up "I've got another group, Kaichou. They are fairly stronger than the other two but I'll have them drained in about half an hour."

"Good. The double elimination should have woken the other teams near our area, making them panic and hopefully trigger our traps." Sona spoke with a small smile. She had gotten Kiba and Tomoe, her [Knights] to scout out the area last night and they had ran into three groups that had set up camp without any sort of defences or even someone on watch which allowed them to set up traps nearby the mirrors Tsubaki had originally put around.

"I've got the other two teams, Kaichou." Saji called after shooting more lines into other mirrors to ensnare their groups as he worked faster to absorb the power of the three groups. He gritted his teeth as he finished and their teams retirement being called before he spoke "I've got to transfer the energy."

Sona nodded as lines from Saji shot out to capture each other members of her peerage and herself before taking a deep breathe at the flood of power pouring into herself as Saji passed on the power he had taken to them all. The rest of the power would be stored into Saji for him to use and, due to the power she figured he would have to deal with, she had made sure to get him to put the energy he couldn't handle into one of Tsubaki's mirrors to be used for later.

...

"Can you believe it!? Right off the bat for day two, the Sitri Team has eliminated two teams simultaneously and another three have fallen in their traps! They are eliminating teams without even being there!" The announcer broadcasted energetically.

Rias watched, grinning down at the screen. She knew what her friend's servants were capable of as well as her former peerage members, and she knew immediately that it was Tsubaki and Saji's doing. Rias hoped she would never have to face her friend in battle or even a Rating Game as just playing chess with her, Rias knew that she was outclassed in strategy.

"While Sona Sitri has been on the offensive, it seems like Riser Phenex and Sairaorg Bael haven't moved at all! As for the Bune Team..." The announcer said excitedly only for the screen to panel over to their cabin, excitement fading as he concluded, "...it appears they're still sleeping."

The screen panelled over to the other teams that were still competing. Rias knew some of them, such as Seekvaira Agares, Diodora Astaroth and Zephyrdor Glaysa-Labolas. She could only wonder what motives they were competing for as Rias wasn't particularly fond of any of them either.

"Oh! What's this!? It looks like a coalition has formed! Has the Bune Team's scouts alerted them." The announcer yelled excitedly. The screen showing that three devils with over twenty of their servants behind them. The camera pulled back and it showed the large group heading straight towards the cabin that the Bune team was sleeping in.

"What's this!? The Bune team is going to get ambushed and their eight hour protection barrier is long gone! Does this mean the end for them?" The announcer said as everyone paid rapt attention to the screen.

As the coalition started to move to surround the cabin, stopping as the door opened to reveal an eagerly grinning Rhiannon, a calm Nagi and a slightly nervous Samantha stepping out.

"Who are you?" The apparent ring leader demanded, his eyes roaming over the trio's bodies.

"Tch. Keep those eyes in their sockets pervert." Rhiannon retorted annoyed, Nagi holding her hand up to the blonde to speak only to be interrupted by the leader, "Why you... a low-class dog like yourself should know when to answer your betters!"

"Please remember the plan, Rhian." Nagi quietly reminded, only heard due to systems set in place. It seemed she had decided that any attempt at diplomacy would fail now as Rhiannon huffed as she muttered "Yeah, yeah. I'll protect Sammie while she goes full on Gilgamesh on them. Just don't get yourself caught in the attack."

"Sam, I'll leave the servants in your and Rhian's hands. I know you can distract them long enough for me to deal with the [Kings]." Nagi spoke kindly to the greenette, getting a resolute nod from her as she conjured a simple long sword in her hand as the leader snarled "Are you ignoring me!?"

"My apologies..." Nagi started as she turned back to the coalition of devils, "I was just reassuring our youngest member."

"You think I give a shit about that! Now tell that master of yours to get his ass up so I can kick it around." The leader growled out in retaliation, the trio of ladies sharing a look before they answered together in a serious tone "No."

Before the leader could shout anything in response, Nagi was in front of him and had cut him open at the waist which retired him and his peerage instantly before she called "Now!"

"Re-quip: Heaven's Wheel Armour!" Samantha called as Nagi disappeared in a burst of speed, her body engulfed in white light before Rhiannon called out "Mirror Fire: Belphegor!"

Hellish black flames of shot from Rhiannon's hand forming a large shield in front of her which blocked and negated the magic aimed at her and Samantha, the two remaining [Kings] sending their [Knights] forwards only to be met by Nagi who gracefully held them off after drawing her second katana.

The glow around Samantha died down within seconds to reveal her wearing plated armour over her chest, with a large metal flower over it, and a large billowing skirt that has metal plating in the upper area. Her stomach and neck are uncovered, and she has large metal wings that appear to be made of individual blades, as well as a wing-like headpiece. Her sword had changed to match the armour as well as Samantha held the blade above her.

A hundred emerald green magic circles opened up above her, blades of all kinds starting to appear from them as she swung her sword down and called "Fly, my swords!"

The swords shot like missiles at the remaining members of the attacking group, Nagi disengaging from her opponents and appearing next to Rhiannon so they could watch the weapons skewer their targets or detonate at hitting near where they were standing. Within moments, the last two groups had been retired due to the barrage of magical swords.

"Good job, squirt." Rhiannon spoke with a smile as she dismissed her black flames, Nagi nodding in agreement as she sheathed her katanas and added "Do you see that there is no need to doubt yourself, Sam? Our master has sought to prepare us for threats long before this tournament was announced and relying on each other is not something to look down upon."

"Yeah, you're right, Nagi." Samantha spoke relaxed, her armour changing back to her former outfit before she added "Let's help finish packing up so we can go."

"Yes lets." Nagi spoke with a pleased smile.

"Whoever these ladies are they are very powerful because they took down three peerages together and in under a few minutes." The announcer spoke impressed as the screen showed the trio turn and head back inside the cabin.

"A-Amazing." Rias spoke in shock, Sirzechs nodding as he spoke "They have really worked on their teamwork to be able to rely on each other like that. Plus the speed of that [Knight] is impressive to cover that distance before the [Knights] realised and the number of swords the other young woman created. I didn't know that the Belphegor Clan had any special fire magic either."

...

"Good work girls." Kazuhiko spoke as the trio entered, a warm smile on his lips as he had watched them from inside the cabin. Samantha blushed as she hadn't realised that Kazuhiko was going to watch how they did before replying "Thank you, Tsuna-sama."

"Please help the others finish packing things up, Sam, and then we can get moving. Rhian, can you keep guard outside just in case." He added, Samantha and Rhiannon nodding before splitting up, leaving Nagi and Kazuhiko before the former of the pair spoke up "Thank you for giving me a boost by your [Sun Flames]. I don't think I would have been able to move so fast without it at my current level."

"It's fine." Kazuhiko replied with a soft smile, "You're the most level headed out of the three especially as Rhian thinks herself immortal at times and Sam is still getting her confidence. It also meant that you could get the others of that group off-guard to give Sam a chance to see how her true power works especially as she normally spars with us."

"I think your little plan worked for her." Nagi spoke with a soft smile.

Within fifteen minutes the group had finished packing and had left the hut behind as they continued through the forest, chatting about general things like what they would do after the tournament or what reward the girls would want.

...

"Riser Phenex's peerage wipes out another team!" The announcer said energetically as the moderator announced another team's retirement.

"That's the third team today! It seems like Riser and his peerage are guarding the stadium and using it as a stronghold!" The announcer explained before continuing "The Sitri Team finished off the ones caught in their traps and have already ensnared two more teams! They are leading the day with six team kills! Sona's strategy seems to be to dwindle down her opponents, but how will she manage against Sairaorg, Riser or the Bune Team!" The announcer said, the crowd hanging on every word and cheering for the Bune and Sitri Teams.

"Oh! This is definitely an interesting development! The Bune Team have are being shadowed by another team!" The announcer explained, the screen showing a peerage following stealthily behind the Bune Team.

...

'Oh, looks like we have a group behind us.' Kazuhiko thought as he kept walking, he could tell their was a group of [Low Class] devils behind them due to some passive [Senjutsu] to sense their spirit and had a feeling that they wanted to separate his group if the illusion he could feel form was any sign as the forest was growing darker and fog was growing around them. He lifted a hand in front of him, using his body to hide it from their followers as he ignited it with indigo flames and started to work his [Youjutsu] as he spoke to his peerage "Let's make them think their illusions are working on us."

At their nods, the indigo flames turned invisible as he surged them outwards in unison with his [Youjutsu] to take control of the whole illusion subtly so the original caster didn't notice before they split up. Kazuhiko moving off his own as the rest of his peerage separated into groups: Hiromi and Martina, Jessica and Rhiannon, Samantha and Daphne, Nagi and Lucile and Diana on her own. He sensed that the group behind him was splitting up to go after his 'illusion' peerage, smirking slyly as he looked around.

"You can come out now." Kazuhiko called as he turned to face the direction where the last of the peerage was, "I know you've been following us and if you don't I'm sure I can just burn down this forest."

"Tch." A female voice spoke as she stepped out in front of him. She was a dark skinned, tall young woman with short black hair and dressed in a flattering outfit consisting of jeans and a tank top.

"I kinda expected better from a Balam then to play assassin during this tournament." Kazuhiko retorted, the Balam devil growling at him as she shot back "Like a sexist pig like you would know better, having women fight for you."

"I don't make them fight for me... We are a team after all. Anyway, they are who made the choice to even enter this tournament together, I only agreed with their idea." Kazuhiko countered, dispersing his illusion to reveal that his peerage was surrounding her.

"What!? How!?" She spoke shocked and unnerved, Kazuhiko smirking as he explained "The moment I sensed your illusion I took control of it. So each time my peerage split up I hide them and sent illusion copies off into the forest for your people to follow."

"I suggest cousin that you retire." Jessica spoke as she stepped out in front of the Balam devil, making her eyes harden as she shouted "You didn't expect your great [King] to be a womani-ack!"

Jessica slammed a punch into the young woman's stomach, her eyes hard as the yellow shotgun-gauntlets now on her arm - the form of her Sacred Gear - blasted an explosive round into her stomach that sent her flying before Jessica fired a blast behind to sent herself flying after the Balam and then landed a blow on her head to make her smash into the ground which cratered around her. Several more blows landed before she coughed up blood as Jessica glared down at her, firing several more explosive rounds down on her before the light of retirement starting to cover the heiress and Jessica spoke "Don't you dare call him a womaniser. He is a better man then most of those in the Underworld."

[Team 16 has been retired.] The moderator announced, Kazuhiko moving to rest a hand on Jessica's arm as she deactivated her Sacred Gear and spoke "Thank you for standing up for me, Jess."

"She deserved it." Hiromi spoke resolutely, Jessica looking around to see nods from the others before Kazuhiko added "Let's get moving."

...

'Good job, Kazu-kun, Jessica-chan.' Tatsumi thought with a pleased smile at how his grandson had took control and turned the illusion against the Balam Team, glancing to Rykeoss who was smirking herself as well.

"He has a Balam member." Rias muttered in thought, wondering why Jessica had reacted so strongly to defend her [King's] honour in that way. The gauntlets that had formed were obviously a Sacred Gear and she swore they were familiar to her as well, just like Samantha's armour.

Rias stared at the masked young man on the screen, he hadn't fought yet and had only used support magic and illusions which would have made her think he was the weak link in the group but from how he interacted with them she could tell that Tsuna cared about his peerage like they were his family. A family where the girls all seemed happy and, if what she had heard was right, eager to progress their relationship beyond close friends with him. The fact that Tsuna's peerage had been the ones to convince him to enter shook Rias as well because he didn't care about what would happen to her and was most likely going to trade her the first chance he got.

"Sirzechs-sama, the information you requested has come in." Grayfia spoke as she handed him a stack of files, Rias looking genuinely interested as she asked "What's that?"

"Information about Tsuna Bune and his peerage." Sirzechs answered her, Rias' eyes widening as she asked "What's it say?"

"Oho. Are you rooting for someone else as well as Sona?" Sirzechs spoke amused, Rias shaking her head as she countered "Of course not but its hard to tell which piece some of his members are as some fit into being more then one piece from what we've seen of them."

"Is this all of the information there is?" Sirzechs asked Grayfia with a frown as he looked through the thin files, getting a nod from his wife as she replied "Yes Sirzechs-sama. There are no other records and that includes the information that the moderators recorded. It's very possible that someone was hiding them."

"What does all of this mean, Onii-sama?" Rias asked concerned as she eyed the files worryingly.

"Well, best case scenario is nothing happens and they just have to answer a few questions..." Sirzechs started saying to his sister who asked, a little afraid, "And the worst case scenario?"

"Worst case scenario, is that someone has infiltrated this tournament... And Tsuna hasn't given a reason for why he entered in the first place either so..." Sirzechs explained simply.

"What would they gain from that...?" Rias asked, her eyes widening in realisation as she blurted out, "Me? But why?"

"We have no idea right now..." Grayfia answered, looking at the screen as Rias thought aloud, slight hope in her voice, "Then shouldn't we stop the tournament!?"

"And let the riots and noble houses break down into another Civil War?" Grayfia asked seriously, Rias looking confused as she asked "Why would they riot?"

"Tsuna-san has already pointed out to all of the heiresses that renouncing their status to get out of a marriage contract will just result in another competition just like this... even if some get out lawfully this could still happen. Do you really think that the younger generation won't riot over protecting their own freedom of choice, now that this outcome has been brought to light?" Grayfia explained, Rias being struck dumb as she realised that her sister-in-law was right as her brother added "She's right we can't stop the tournament as it'll be seen as us stopping Tsuna-san and trying to silence him from what they perceive as the truth now about why this tournament was started."

Rias slumped back in her seat in shock, realising what Tsuna had started when he spoke at the start of the tournament.

...

"This team is done, Kaichou." Saji spoke as the moderators announced another retirement, Sona looking at her [Pawn] in concern as she asked "How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired and warm... Transferring the power to the others is helping a bit though." Saji answered, tugging at his collar for moment as he panted.

"Anyone else having any discomfort?" Sona asked as she looked around, seeing that all of her peerage looked a little uncomfortable due to the additional power they were holding before she tugged at the collar of her own uniform at the warmth in her own body from the additional power she had been given as well. They shook their heads in response to her, making her hope that the group could handle the discomfort so they could use their additional power against the remaining teams later on.

...

"The Sitri Team has eight eliminations today!The Phenex Team has five! The Bune Team has four! Those are our top three for today! With six other teams eliminated that makes twenty three teams eliminated for day two! Of course the winner can only be the last team standing! Though I'm sure the Sitri Team might like a nice place to sleep tonight." The announcer said, counting up the tallies as he continued "With all these teams having been eliminated, there is only eighteen teams left! Congratulations to all of those that made it to day three!"

...

Kazuhiko hummed softly as he stood at the mouth of the cave they had found for them to spend the night in, Daphne had once again sent out her [Ice Mice] spies to ensure they weren't surprised and he and Diana had set out some dangerous traps along with Lucile.

"Tsuna-sama." Kazuhiko heard behind him, turning to see Lucile and Daphne approaching as the former spoke "We've been talking and decided its for the best we strike during the night to catch some of the enemies unaware."

"Especially with seventeen other teams left, striking tonight would help ensure the tournament ends tomorrow." Daphne added, Kazuhiko nodding in understanding as he asked "The others agreed with this?"

"Diana wants this to end soon and Hiromi and Martina will be obviously after a reward if things don't end soon and we have to sleep rough for more then tonight." Lucile spoke with a nod, Kazuhiko letting a chuckle of agreement as he mused over the idea.

"A night assault. If we split up we can take out several teams, I suppose. The rest would have trouble sleeping peaceful as well, huh. At the very least only a few will have guards awake but they can be easy to take care of by you girls."

"Your [Mist Wyverns] would be good scouts as well as Daphne's [Ice Mice] to find out where they all are. Definitely would save us time." Diana reminded as she approached, Kazuhiko nodding in agreement before adding "We'll have to organise it to be simultaneous otherwise one strike could alert others to what we are doing."

"That's right. I'll go gather the others so we can explain the details." Daphne agreed with a nod, Kazuhiko nodding as he started to use the indigo [Mist Flames] to form into the Wyvern scouts had often used growing up so they could start scouting out teams.

...

Martina smirked as she floated over one of the teams that her master's [Mist Wyverns] - a cat sized indigo Wyvern that was resting on her shoulder- had found, her devil wings extended as she gather up magic into her body. She knew that with the completion of this assault she would be one step closer to ending this tournament and enjoying her own bed, or maybe her master's if it was her night to share with him.

'If only we didn't have to go slow with him to avoid spooking him.' Martina thought with a frown as she thought over what she would do with the crimson haired snobby princess that had been part of the cause for Kazuhiko's reluctance. Taking a deep breathe, Martina calmed herself before she nodded at the [Mist Wyvern] to tell Kazuhiko she was ready to strike.

...

Nagi took a calming breathe as she slowly drew her katana as she stood behind a tree near her own target area with time to spare. Looking out at the camp, Nagi could see that the group appeared to be all asleep aside from one 'guard' who looked to be drifting to sleep as well.

'Such an unprepared group for this tournament should be punished for such a thing.' Nagi thought ruefully, taking the time to tap into her magic discretely and coat her sword in water and readied herself for the single move she would need to unleash, despite her own preference for relying on her natural skill with her sword. Glancing to Lucile, Nagi gave her the nod to say it was safe for her to transform without alerting any of their targets.

"[Soul Merge: Kappa]" Lucile spoke softly, her body engulfed in light for a brief moment as she tapped into her heritage as well. When the light faded to reveal Lucile wearing a provocative dark blue-green one-piece suit that left her shoulders, arms and legs free and had a large oval cut over her stomach. Wrapped around her neck was a pink scarf that had equal length ends falling down her back to her hips. Her hair had been styled into two plates on either side of her head, dark green cloth securing and covering them and left her front bangs free which were now an aqua blue in colour and her eyes had turned black. From her knees and elbows down her skin had turned light green in colour and had black spotted covering them before ending at her hands and feet in frog-like webbed feet. Her face was still covered by her mask despite the change in the rest of her appearance.

Lucile was a member of the [Ronove Clan], a Clan that specialised in [Soul Manipulation] which Kazuhiko had suggested she use in a novel way by hunting down Strays from other factions and absorbing their souls and by tapping into their souls Lucile had the ability to take on forms inspired by them and gain access to their powers through them, changing her clothes as well as natural appearance. Her current form had come from a Kappa who had turned assassin for hire.

When the pair were ready Nagi gave a nod to the [Mist Wyvern] that was resting on a branch in her sight before slipping into the stance she would need while Lucile gathered water into her hands herself and formed a pair of oversized kunai blades for her own use.

...

Samantha took a calming breathe as she flew about her target in her [Heaven's Wheel] armour, dozen swords behind her all aimed at the group behind her. When she had first heard the suggestion from Kazuhiko she hadn't thought it fair but understood that the rules of the tournament was very loose in regards to how and when they could attack other teams.

Double checking her swords were all aimed and that she had enough, Samantha nodded to the floating [Mist Wyvern] as she took aim at her targets and frowned slightly at how they were all asleep.

...

Rhiannon flew over the group of targets she would be taking out, her flaming wings would normally have alerted her targets if she hadn't used [Belphegor's] black flames instead of just normal demonic flames. She was waiting for the signal from the [Mist Wyvern] that sat atop of her head as she readied to channel hellish blue, [Satan's Blaze], flames from her hands into one large attack to destroy them. A smirk formed on her lips at how they were unprepared for such a thing as they were sleeping but she was disappointed she wouldn't have to test them properly in a fair fight.

She gave a small nod to the [Mist Wyvern] circling her as she waited for the signal to start her own attack.

...

Diana coolly looked out from the tree she was hiding behind to see that her targets were all asleep, shaking her head in disappointment at the fact they were being so lax while in a free-for-all tournament where they could be attacked at any time. It went against everything Tannin had taught her when she was young about how battles were fought as during longer campaigns you always had guards so you wouldn't have assassins infiltrate a base and cause havoc. At least it would make this team's defeat easier as she moved to scratch the chin of the [Mist Wyvern] on her shoulder and nodded her readiness while conjuring a orb of [Power of Destruction] in her other hand.

...

Jessica smirked as she absently activated her [Sub Species] version of her [Variant Detonation] Sacred Gear: [Ember Celica] as she waited for the signal, glancing to Hiromi who was gathering water to her hands to use.

"This is going to be simple if they are just going to ignore the danger around them." Hiromi spoke with a huff, Jessica smirking amused as she retort "Well, it just makes it easier for us to take them out."

"I suppose your right." Hiromi sighed, nodding to the [Mist Wyvern] that was floating above them.

...

'This is going to be rather easy.' Daphne thought as she looked back at the menagerie of animals she had created through her [Ice Make] magic. There were apes, tigers and dragons which she had ordered to surround the camp in front of her, just waiting on the signal to start the attack as she nodded at the [Mist Wyvern] that was resting on her shoulder while scratching at its chin.

...

Kazuhiko floated above above one of the teams they had found, [Mist Flames] gathered around his back to form wings to avoid being found out as being part [Phenex] as he started to gather magic into his hands. They had found seven teams who were fairly close to where they had set up camp in the cave, Kazuhiko assuming that the remaining teams were already making their way towards the stadium in the middle for one reason or another. At the moment he was just waiting for his [Mist Wyverns] to let him know when the others were ready to strike.

The tournament had been a good showing that the girls were capable of matching young devils and their peerages and, while not all of them had fought so far, Kazuhiko was sure he had gotten them onto the right paths to continue growing stronger as well. The reveal was the biggest worry for Kazuhiko as it would bring the other clans' focus on them and no doubt some would see the fact the [Bune Clan] were extinct as an advantage for bartering especially those who already had ties to his peerage.

Shaking his head free from such thoughts, Kazuhiko smirked at getting the final confirmation of the rest of his peerage being ready, letting a crimson fireball of [Storm Flames] flare into life between his hands as he focused on the destructive spell he was about to unleash. Aiming it at the group below, Kazuhiko made sure it was only the size of a football before he pointed his hand down and spoke "Fire Pillar: Storm."

Firing from his hand the thick pillar of [Storm Flames] roared down below him, carving into the ground powerfully and decimating the camp below and the team using it before fading as he cut the power to the spell.

[Team 37 has been eliminated.] A pre-recorded voice of the moderator was hear through the arena, Kazuhiko nodding at the signal being deliver before flying off back to the cave.

...

Martina swung her hand down as the large pillar of crimson flames appeared, holy-lightning coursing over her hand as she called "Galvano Blast!"

A bolt of lightning shot from her down at the camp below, electrocuting them and forcing them to retire. Her eyes caught sight of a similar pillar of flame but of hellish blue colour, showing Martina that Rhiannon had launched a identical attack with her [Satan's Blaze]. With her job done, Martina flew off back towards the cave to meet up with the others.

...

"Water Slicer." Hiromi calmly called as she swung her hand out to release a slash of water magic to cut through some of their opponents while Jessica swung her fists and unleashed explosive rounds at those that were missed. A man tried to charge at the bluenette only for her hand to point at him as she intoned "Water Lock."

The sphere of water that enveloped him, shocked him as he tried to hold his breathe inside of it. Jessica let out a light chuckle as she spoke up "Let's get moving back to the cave."

"Alright." Hiromi spoke as the man was retired from inside the water sphere, the pair turning to break into a run towards their current base of operation.

...

"Water Shuriken!"

"Shigure Soen Ryu: Pelting Rain!"

Lucile and Nagi intoned as they attacked, a large shuriken of water spinning forwards from the former. Nagi was following behind it and swung her sword at the remaining members to make four pillars of water erupt around them to take them out. Lucile threw a pair of water kunai at the remaining member, the [King] she believes, piercing his chest before Nagi swung her katana to open up his chest and ensure the retirement happened.

Once their opponents were gone, Lucile allowed her [Soul Merge] to drop returning her to her normal appearance while Nagi sheathed her sword before they shared a happy look before leaving.

...

Sona, Tsubaki and Akeno were standing outside looking towards the arena while the rest of the peerage was resting inside of the cave that the tournament committee had conveniently made their safe house. Something inside of her made her feel uneasy about the current quietness in the air. Sona's eyes narrowed at catching a flicker of indigo in the sky, so small that she might have missed it normally.

"What was that?" Sona asked with a frown, Tsubaki glancing her [King] as she asked "What was what, Kaichou?"

"I thought I saw a flicker of indigo flames..." Sona explained, pointing into the sky. Tsubaki looked to see if she could catch the sight that Sona did before both of their eyes widened in shock as a pillar of crimson red flames roared into life towards the ground.

"That was a powerful magic." Sona spoke slightly worried, "Whoever cast those crimson flames was using them to knock out one of the teams as well as signalling for the others to attack."

Before Tsubaki could question her [King], a large pillar of hellish blue flame and a thick bolt of white lightning appeared and crashed into the ground in two different areas along with several explosions, all in various places over the arena.

'Holy-Lightning!?' Akeno thought alarmed at seeing the giant bolt slam into the ground.

[Team 37 has been eliminated.] A prerecorded voice of the moderator was hear through the arena, soon followed by six other eliminations which shocked Tsubaki as she wondered out loud "Seven Teams!? One after another!?"

"A coordinated strike." Sona spoke with narrowing eyes, her nerves calming slightly as Akeno countered "But they're miles away and we aren't allowed communication devices."

"There are other ways. I assume that the crimson flame attack was the signal to begin the attack." Sona explained to them.

"What the hell is going on?" Yura, Sona's [Rook], asked as she stepped out of the cave. Sona couldn't blame her as it was be hard to ignore the two fire pillars and loud rumble of thunder.

"Seven teams were just eliminated." Tsubaki explained, Yura staring at the large amount of destruction as she asked "Who do you think did that?"

"I don't know." Sona answered with a frown, she didn't like having an unaccounted element interfering with her plans and whichever team was causing this was becoming a bigger threat to those plans just due to this latest strike showing a powerful opponent amongst the remaining teams.

"Do you think its the same group who did the first attack, Sona?" Akeno asked concerned, Sona frowning in thought before sighing "I hope not."

The trio of third years shared concerned looks before they turned to continue their guard duty for the next hour before they would be relieved by Yura, Tomoe and Koneko.

...

As the Bune Team regrouped in the cave, they settled in to enjoy the warmth of Kazuhiko's demonic flames cooked meal for them as they spoke.

"You think this will be over tomorrow?" Hiromi asked hopefully, Kazuhiko and Diana nodding as the former answered "Eleven teams left, including us, I imagine everyone will make their way for the stadium and clash on the way."

"We've had a rather good stroke of luck with the opponents we've ran into." Martina commented, Daphne smirking as she retorted "Well it was silly of the Balam Team to use illusions against Tsuna-sama."

"She did deserve the beating you delivered, Jessica." Nagi added, the redhead nodding as she retorted "I knew that already, but thanks."

"Who do you think are the other teams around?" Samantha asked, getting thoughtful looks from the others before Daphne spoke up "It's hard to say really... If I knew all the teams and their members I'd be able to make a educated guess. At the very least I'd say the idiot Phenex is still in..."

"Sairaorg would be as well. They don't call him the [Strongest Youth] for nothing." Diana spoke up, Kazuhiko nodding as he added "I'd guess that Sona Sitri is still in given she's very smart and determined to save Gremory."

"I would assume that she was the one to convince Rias to trade her peerage to her as well." Nagi spoke up thoughtfully, "It does help bolster her force and protect them from becoming prizes."

"But the fact she's not noticed us while we've been living within her town means she lacks the power or skill to keep her sensing spells enveloping the whole town." Lucile mused, Rhiannon letting a chuckle as she retort "You know she'll probably see this if she ends up watching the tournament over."

"It'll be fine." Kazuhiko reassured, Martina letting out a giggle as she nodded, "She's might be annoyed about us pointing out such things but she'll know where to strengthen her own spell-work over the town and with our plan to reveal ourselves in the finals we'll be able to help her with it. Now, let's turn in so we can end this tournament tomorrow."

...

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, gods and goddesses! Welcome to another exciting day for the Tournament of Kings!" The announcer cried joyously and getting the crowd to roar eagerly, "Today is day three of the TOK and its been exhilarating so far. Sona Sitri and her peerage have proven to be master assassins with their strategy of striking from the shadows, eliminating eight teams yesterday. Riser Phenex has continued to successfully hold the TOK Stadium as his stronghold, his peerage proving why they are known as Queen-level. But the one everyone has been talking about and watching closely is Tsuna Bune and his team."

"Alright! Let's get back to the tournament for day three!" The announcer called excitedly. The giant screen flickered and the arena appeared before countless numbers of viewers. Gasps of shock filled the air as they saw parts of the arena had been burnt, frozen or blown away, the crowd soon going crazy as they wanted to know what they had missed happen during the night.

"It looks like there were many fierce battles in the middle of the night! Big Sections of the arena have been destroyed." The announcer yelled in awe, "We are gathering footage from last night to see what has happened! I'm getting word now that..."

The announcer paused as he listened to his earpiece, eyes going wide as he practically yelled "The Bune Team has eliminated seven teams simultaneously in a massive night raid! Here is the footage from last night."

The screen changed to the first scene where Tsuna was floating in the air with indigo flame wings coming from his back before he fired a crimson-red pillar of flames down towards the team under him, making a massive explosion once it hit the ground.

The screen changed again to reveal an enemy peerage in the middle of a clearing they made for their camp. The audience noticed they were all asleep as Samantha floated above them with dozens of swords aimed down at them. Sending them flying to skewer the team below her and make them retire.

Once more the screen changed to show Rhiannon floating above her own target with a large ball of hellish blue flames which she quickly threw down at her targets and unleashing a pillar of flames which retired the team while lingering on some of the burnt trees.

Martina was next shown on the screen, her bolt of holy-lightning crashing into the team below her in a massive explosion which retired them.

The screen changed again to show Daphne sitting on a tree branch watching as numerous ice animals set upon the enemy team. Apes, Tigers, Dragons and even eagles caused chaos as they fought and any of the ice creations' destruction resulted in more smaller animals attacking them till they were retired.

The next couple of changes on the screen showed Diana, Jessica and Hiromi and Nagi and Lucile all carving through their targets with their own unique fighting styles. Diana having created two swords made out of the [Power of Destruction] which she used with well practised ease. Jessica and Hiromi was using fists, explosion and water magic against their opponents while Nagi and Lucile both uses elegant fighting styles that also saw them use water magic,

As the footage played the crowded cheered wildly at the sheer and utter domination being displayed by the Bune Team. Many were impressed by the tactics Tsuna was using as well as curious as why those indigo coloured wyverns were everywhere and wondering if that had been mean for the Bune Team to coordinate such a large strike as no communication devices had been allowed. Millicas was watching in awe and even Ravel was impressed at how the Bune Team acted as a team while also enjoying their own personal fighting styles.

Rias gulped in worry as she watched the display of power as she once again had to ask herself why Tsuna had entered the tournament, who he really was and what would happen to her if he won the tournament. A part of her hoped that she would be treated kindly by him and his peerage. Another part was in awe as she had finally figured out what Tsuna's peerage fighting styles had came from although she scarcely believed it on some level that they used anime characters' abilities and powers as a basis for their own.

'My own [Power of Destruction] is like a toddler throwing balls at what they don't like compared to how skilled this Diana is with it.' Rias thought to herself as she replayed what Diana did to a single peerage on her own.

As Sirzechs Lucifer watched the battles be shown he kept a amused smile on his lips but inside he was starting to connect the dots to some of the [Bune Team's] powers. Lucile had the [Ronove Clan's] [Soul Manipulation] but had the crimson hair of the [Gremory Clan] which made him partly worry and partly be pleased that another Clan could be restarted. Diana was obviously from the [Bael Clan] but the only young woman he knew by that name from that clan was Tannin's daughter and Sirzechs knew she had withdrew from the public due to the amount of propositions she got due to her body and he doubted the former [Dragon King] would let his daughter join an unknown on a whim. Martina was obviously part Fallen Angel due to the fact she had holy-lightning and probably a daughter of Barakiel which would bring up trouble for his sister's former [Queen] if it was true. Jessica had been proven to be a [Balam] but was obviously only half devil due to her having a Sacred Gear.

What annoyed the crimson haired Maou was that the other members were relative unknowns but he imagined there was more surprises in store for him and the audience, if the group revealed themselves during the remaining time of the tournament. Even the [King], Tsuna, had been a surprise as he had assumed that the brunet's skill in illusions and support based fire magic meant he was a [King] that lead from the back but the blast he had used to retire the team was easily High Class in terms of power and the fact he hadn't tired himself out meant that Tsuna had large reserves of demonic power.

...

Kazuhiko stood relaxed at the cave's entrance with a thoughtful look hidden by his half mask as he hummed the [Ballad of the Goddess] from [Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]. He knew that his team had the advantage now as they were probably one of the few teams who were at full strength due to being able to sleep peacefully while the other teams would have no doubt had set up guards to avoid being surprise attacked.

"Nervous?" Martina asked as she hugged him from behind, smiling at how he shifted nervously in her arms as she continued "It'll be fine. We haven't had to use too much of our power during the tournament so far."

"Yeah... That had worried me." Kazuhiko admitted, "I half expected we'd be picked on for being unknowns."

"The organisers had to evenly distribute the teams locations so meeting one so quickly was probably a fluke." Martina pointed out, Kazuhiko nodding as he asked "Are the others ready to leave?"

"We are." Diana spoke as she approached, the rest of his peerage behind her as she added "Let's set about finishing this tournament."

"Right." They all spoke together.

...

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are now officially in the final stages of the tournament. There are only eleven teams left! Who will win, the first ever, Tournament of Kings!" The announcer yelled, making the crowd go wild once more, "And the remaining team seem to have sensed this as well because each and every one of them is moving! Both the Sitri and Bael Teams are finally making moves towards the TOK Stadium... and what's this!? The Bael Team are being confronted by a coalition of five peerages led by the Glaysa-Labolas group."

The audience were on tender hooks as they watched to see what would happen, Sairaorg hadn't done anything yet. Sairaorg was as renowned as Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri and people had high expectations from him given that he was from the Bael Clan. There was also more than a few higher ups that was interested in this next battle.

"Sairaorg Bael is advancing on the enemy all by himself! Is he going to negotiate or maybe even surrender!?" The announcer spoke excitedly. Everyone watched Sairaorg approach over fifty enemies by himself. His face was expressionless and he only looked dead ahead. Everyone watched in silence as they waited to see what would happen. Sairaorg's peerage watched him calmly while the others laughd. Zaphyrdor Glaysa-Labolas, their leader, walked up with a touch of arrogance.

"Did you come all the way out here just to surrender?" Zephyrdor asked Sairaorg with a smirk, Sairaorg preparing himself for the fight as he answered "No, I came here to fight."

"All by yourself?" Zephyrdor asked arrogantly, an equally arrogant laugh coming from him and his teammates as he retorted "Your funeral buddy. The so-called Great King will fall just like the others will."

Zephyrdor flipped out a knife from his sleeve, trying to catch Sairaorg by surprise only for Sairaorg to be faster and dodged the stab and delivering a solid blow to Zephyrdor's midsection, sending him flying back into his teammates.

"Sairaorg Bael intends to fight them all by himself!? Has Sairaorg had enough waiting around he's decided to finish everything himself!?" The announcer asked amazed as the crowd watched in awe.

"What are you waiting for!? Get him!" Zephyrdor yelled, quickly wiping the blood from his mouth.

They all charged forwards like a massive tidal wave but Sairaorg stood immovable, ready for the fight. The [Knights] reached him first, only to be unable to hit him as he weaved through their swords before striking them down one by one with only his fists. Most of them disappeared in the bright light of retirement after taking only one blow. Sairaorg's strength was remarkable and his skills looked perfected from years of training. The Bael devil traded blows with the [Rooks] and he took fire from the [Bishops] and [Queens] but nothing seemed to slow him down as he eliminated them one by one.

"I-I don't believe it! Sairaorg Bael is decimating them with nothing but his fists! Nothing seems to be able to stop him!" The announcer yelled excitedly, "Nothing seems to be able to stop him!"

The crowd was going berserk with the display of raw power which soon had the whole stadium cheering him on as Sairaorg Bael was a person that everyone could root for as chanting began, "Sairaorg! Sairaorg! Sairaorg!"

...

"W-When did Sairaorg become this strong?" Rias wondered aloud in shock, awestruck at the sheer raw power that Sairaorg was showing despite knowing the rumours about him being the strongest of the young devils but seeing it in person was an enlightening experience as she realised that the rumors were indeed right and Sairaorg was not hype. This was also in spite of not having inherited the [Power of Destruction].

"It is pretty impressive." Sirzechs commented as they watched the massive screen. The other Maou were also impressed by the Bael heir. The Deities were mildly impressed though their bodyguards were more open with their views and Tannin even looked impressed.

"He has been training diligently for years. Of course he would show drastic improvement." Grayfia told them. Sirzechs nodded before looking to Rias as he asked "Do you think Sairaorg and Sona have teamed up? It's kind of a coincidence that they headed out at the same time."

"Maybe?" Rias answered, pondering over the idea.

"What happens if Sairaorg wins instead of Sona?" Grayfia asked, Rias taking a moment to think before answering "He would still be more suitable than anyone else."

"Even Tsuna?" Sirzechs spoke with an amused edge, Rias shooting him a glare as she retorted "It doesn't matter. Sona is going to win this tournament."

"Oh look! Sona and Seekvaira are about to fight." Sirzechs spoke excitedly, drawing Rias' attention back to the screen.

...

Sona and Seekvaira stood outside of the TOK Stadium in the middle of the arena, staring down at the other with their peerages behind them at the ready. The main difference between the two groups was that while neither had been attacked on their way to the stadium, Sona and her peerage had managed to get a peaceful night sleep after the surprise attacks while Seekvaira and her peerage looked slightly discheveled from not getting a full night.

"I must ask that you retire, Seekvaira." Sona spoke, glancing over Seekvaira's peerage as she continued "In your current state, you cannot do much against us. So please surrender and save yourself the humiliation."

"Do not underestimate me and my peerage, Sona!" Seekvaira countered in a harsh tone, insulted by the Sitri heiress as she pointed out, "I can't do that. I have my own reasons to win this. Plus, its not like I would treat Rias Gremory unfairly."

"Ah, but I know you do not have the best intentions for her though." Sona retorted, pushing up her glasses, "You would simply trade her off if she proved not to be up to your high standards and given that she is not mechanically or technically gifted like you and your peerage, that would be quite soon. I can't allow that to happen."

The cold tone Sona ended with made Seekvaira scoff as she shot back, "That may be true but that doesn't mean she can't be trained. Anyway, this tournament is just a means to an end. Winning this will increase my standing and reputation as well as help me further my goals."

"I will not allow Rias to suffer because of this insufferable tournament!" Sona declared angrily.

That signalled the end of any attempt at negotiations as Seekvaira's side unleashed a large blast of magic towards Sona. Tsubaki appearing in front of her and used her Sacred Gear to create a large mirror to take the strike instead. The mirror cracked as it reflected the attack at double its power, making the Agares Team scramble to get out of the way before Sona used the next part of her plan as she called "Yuuto, Akeno now!"

"[Sword Birth!]" Yuuto Kiba called as he acted, stabbing the sword he had drew into the ground and making dozens of blades erupt from the ground around the enemy team to stop them from escaping. Sona fired a large blast of water magic soaking the group while Akeno unleashed a giant bolt of lightning from the sky and strike on them, using Kiba's swords like lightning rods and Sona's water to ensure Seekvaira and her peerage was struck by the attack.

"I surrender!" Seekvaria screamed in pain, making her and her peerage retire before the combination attack could be potentially fatal to them.

...

"The Sitri Team uses a shocking combination to defeat Seekvaria Agares and her peerage." The announcer exclaimed with a grin, the crowd cheering wildly despite the cheesy pun.

"Looks like Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko are working well with Sona." Sirzechs spoke as Rias nodding pleased but feeling a pang of jealousy that Sona was commanding her family. It had been for the best as she wouldn't want them to be treated as prizes like herself and Sona had promised to treat them well. Plus with them helping Sona, she had more of a chance to win this tournament.

The screen changed to show Sairaorg standing on his own against Zephyrdor while bodies littered the ground around the former with them all retiring.

"Amazing! It looks like the only person left standing against Sairaorg is Zephyrdor Glaysa-Labolas himself. Sairaorg Bael has barely broken a sweat. It also appears that Zephyrdor is losing the will to fight and Sairaorg is just completely overpowering him." The announcer yelled highly excitable.

"Sairaorg!"

"Sairaorg!"

"Sairaorg!"

"Incredible! Sairaorg has just defeated four peerages on his own. The Bael Clan must be proud to have an heir with this kind of power and not even a fully mature devil! There is no telling how strong Sairaorg will become when he fully realises his potential!" He raved, the crowd continuing to chant for the Bael heir. The announcer put his hand to his ear for a few moments before he spoke "It seems that the Sitri Team is recuperating from their brief battle with the Agares Team... and what's this!? The Astaroth Team has just confronted the Bune Team!"

...

Kazuhiko scowled under his mask as he looked at the peerage before him because he was quite aware of the reputation the [King] had as Martina had heard rumours of his actions. The peerage were all dressed as nuns despite the fact they were devils and their eyes looked rather lost and empty, a sure sign that the rumours had some validity as he watched Diodora Astaroth step forwards with a gentlemanly bow before he spoke "Good day. I'm Diodora Astaroth, heir of the Astaroth Clan."

"I know who you are, defiler of holy maidens." Kazuhiko retorted seriously, Diodora giving a momentary start before smiling gently "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Please, do not insult my intelligence." Kazuhiko snapped off, a small wave of power leaving him, "You have not been as discrete as you hoped."

Kazuhiko glanced behind him as a five foot one young woman with long blonde hair and bright green eyes stepped past him, dressed in a nun's habit and a frown on her face. Diodora's eyes widened in shock at seeing the blonde as he blurted out "Asia!?"

"Why did you lie, Diodora-san?" Asia asked sadly, Diodora stepping back in shock as the blonde continued "I was thrown out of the church for healing you of a wound that was self inflicted."

"I-I didn't..." Diodora tried to protest, Asia shaking her head as she interrupted "Don't lie to me... Tsuna-sama has explained it all to me. How you pray on holy maidens, how you get them excommunicated and then break and abuse them."

Diodora's eyes were wide in shock as the young woman who had been his latest target had been claimed by this 'Tsuna' and turned against him as he tried to find the words to rebuke her as Asia turned to hug the masked [King] as she added "You're nothing but a monster, Diodora-san. Tsuna-sama would never treat me like that."

"So what?" Diodora sneered, breaking from his normally gentle mask as he continued "I'm a blood relative of the current Maou Beelzebub unlike your filthy dragon loving [King]. I deserve to be able to enjoy myself by breaking holy maidens and watching their looks of pain, sadness, and despair which are delicious to me. Yours will be as well my Asia when I kill your [King] and take you from him and ruin you for my enjoyment."

Diodora pointed his hand at the peerage in front of him, his eyes widening in shock at how Asia had suddenly vanished and realising what he had let slip to everyone watching before Kazuhiko appeared in front of him and dealt a hammer blow to his stomach with a fist covered in faint pale blue almost white energy which was the only sign of him using [Ki]. Diodora coughing up blood at the heavy blow, feeling his body shut down as Kazuhiko spoke pleased "The truth is out."

Moments later, Diodora and his peerage were retired due to the former's loss.

...

Rykeoss and Tatsumi shared a look as the moment that they saw 'Asia' appear, both aware of how Kazuhiko hated people who forced others to join them. It had showed in the fact Kazuhiko hadn't accepted the girls into his peerage until they were sure about the decision.

The couple knew that Asia Argento was already on her way to Kuoh Town after Martina's mother, a Italian nun, had passed on information about what had happened and that despite her own attempts to convince the higher ups otherwise, hadn't been able to help the blonde. The woman had gathered some money and supplies for Asia and directed her to Kuoh Town and informed the Bune household about what she had done to ensure that the blonde would be able to live safely. Kazuhiko knew this as well and was keen to help those who had been abandoned after his own past.

Ajuka Beelzebub sat in shock as the truth of his brother's actions came out, having trouble believing that the gentle face of his little brother hid this sadistic, sinister young man who was willing to risk war just to satiate his want for holy maidens. A part of him wondered how he hadn't seen this before as Diodora ranted and showed everyone his true face.

"Ajuka?" Sirzechs asked concerned, Ajuka shaking his head as he spoke "How did I not see this happening Sirzechs? I'm a genius and I didn't see anything wrong with Diodora-kun."

"You couldn't be there all the time to see any slips, Ajuka. Our duties..." Sirzechs tried to reassure, Ajuka steeling himself as he spoke "We'll have to properly investigate this. Diodora-kun could have caused a war with Heaven due to his actions."

"Yes, we will." Sirzechs spoke in response, deciding it was better to not bring up the fact his friend's little brother was one-shotted by the [King] of the Bune Team.

Rias was shocked as well, she had never thought that Diodora would be like that given how she had seem him act the previous times she had met with him. The fact Tsuna had been able to make Diodora reveal himself to them and then take him out with one punch made her sure that her first impression that he was just a Wizard/Support type completely wrong.

...

Author's Notes

Well, by now I figure some have worked out some of the characters that some of the girls base their fighting styles off of from the fights here. Sona's plan gets expanded in a interesting way as I take Saji's Absorption Line a step farther and have him transfer power to the others as well as a mirror to make the team harder to deal with. As for Diodora, I wouldn't say he's dealt with but whatever happens in regards to him later won't be the same as the original arc given Kazu's showed Diodora's true nature. Asia's arrival will be earlier then her canon one although I haven't yet worked out where in the space of the aftermath of the tournament and before proper canon starts she will appear.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the last chapter of the already written stuff I have for this. Do have about three quarters of the next chapter done but its rather jumbled up and needs to properly work out how to bridge the gap to canon somewhat. The explanation last chapter where Kazuhiko goes cliche with telling what he does is just a one off. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

...

After recovering from their short bout with the Agares Team, Sona and her peerage finally entered the stadium. There was four entrances and she was coming through the South entrance while Sairaorg was entering through the West entrance. The whole stadium was based on the Roman Coliseum in its prime, albeit much larger then the original.

On the north side was a royal box fit for an emperor which held Riser Phenex and his peerage, the former having modified it to fit with his tastes. Sona, Sairaorg and their peerages arrived at the centre of the stadium, glancing to each other before they took notice of Riser sitting, surrounded by his peerage. Riser began to clap slowly, mockingly, and some of his peerage laughed.

"It looks like you have finally made it. Too bad you came all this way for nothing." Riser spoke arrogantly, a grin on his face as Sona and Sairaorg glared back at him before the former shouted "Riser Phenex surrender! You cannot beat both of us at once."

"Well, if it isn't the Sitri heiress. Come to play hero?" Riser asked mockingly with a smile, "You thought that you could come in and take away the woman who was supposed to be mine by convincing her to denounce herself and attempt to take her under your clan's protection. And look at where we are now... here in a tournament the so-called Lucifer made up to keep the peace by putting his precious little sister up for the grand prize."

Riser paused for a moment to sip some expensive wine before another voice interrupted him from saying anything more, "And you didn't interfere with the original arrangement Riser Phenex? After all, you were the one telling lies to Rias Gremory about your half brother."

Gazes moved to see the new group, Riser's eyes narrowing in rage.

...

"Are you feeling better, Tsuna-sama?" Diana asked concerned, Kazuhiko nodding while taking a calming breathe. He knew his peerage would have picked up on the small [Senjutsu] use to take down Diodora but given that soon they'd be revealing themselves it wouldn't matter much.

"I can't believe he was like that despite what I learnt about him." Samantha spoke sadly, Lucile wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she replied "You know you are far better then that foul cockroach."

"Only three teams left now." Daphne pointed out, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "When we find them we'll reveal ourselves, alright?"

"I can't wait to see the shock on their faces" Rhiannon spoke with a smirk as they started to walk once more.

It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the East entrance of the Coliseum, Kazuhiko taking the lead on entering and snorting at hearing Riser rant about how Rias was his.

"And you didn't interfere with the original arrangement Riser Phenex? After all, you were the one telling lies to Rias Gremory about your half brother." Kazuhiko interrupted, smirking as everyone looked to them as he continued "You even got it to the point that she would have been his [King] had you not tried to kill him."

"I don't know where you got your information but it was assassins that tried to kill the little half-breed not me." Riser scoffed in response, any further response dying on his lips as Kazuhiko took off his mask and replied "Oh really? I distinctly remember you were the one attacking me at that time."

"Kazuhiko! How did you survive?" Riser snarled in shock, Kazuhiko smirking as he continued without answering the question, "But then I shouldn't have expected much truth from the one who lied to Rias Gremory about me being a deviant and a pervert when you really were only talking about yourself."

He glanced to see Sona and Sairaorg's shock and confusion as he give a theatrical bow as he introduced himself "I'm Kazuhiko Bune, formerly Phenex. I had enough magic to transport myself to the human world where my grandparents saved me. Just because I didn't inherit the full [Phenex Immortality] doesn't mean I don't have a level of natural healing higher then most devils either."

"Don't antagonist the idiot, Kaz." Diana spoke as she took off her own mask, the shock on the trio of [Kings] faces growing as Sairaorg called "Cousin!?"

"Hello cousin. For the others, I'm Diana Tannin, Kazuhiko-sama's [Queen]." Diana spoke with a cool smirk, Riser fuming at seeing the most desirable and elusive young devil with his half brother.

"I'm Martina Lorenzo, Kazu-sama's [Bishop]." Martina spoke as she pulled her own mask off before Daphne smirk as she did the same an introduced herself "I'm the other [Bishop], Daphne Watson, daughter of the [Lucifuge Clan]."

"I am the [Knight]: Nagi Sasaki, daughter of the [Sitri Clan] and descendant of Kojirō Sasaki." Nagi introduced herself with a formal bow, Sona's mouth gaped open in shock as Jessica stepped forwards to speak "I'm Jessica Balam, [Rook]."

"I'm Rhiannon Evans, daughter of the [Phenex Clan] and [Mutated Pawn]" Rhiannon spoke with a smirk, enjoying the glare Riser was sending her way.

"I'm Hiromi Ryumi, [Mutated Pawn]." Hiromi spoke up as she removed her mask, Lucile smirking as she removed her own mask and introduced herself "Lucile Ronove, daughter of the [Ronove] and [Gremory] clans and [Mutated Pawn]."

"I'm Samantha Armstrong, daughter of the [Astaroth Clan] and [Mutated Pawn]." Samantha rounded out the group, her own mask taken off as she nervously stuck near the back.

"No need to hide those either, Kazu-sama." Lucile spoke up with a slight smile, Kazuhiko nodding as he allowed his Kyuubi features emerge as he stretched and groaned "That's better... Nearly three days with them hidden is just too much for me."

...

"I don't believe it, the presumed dead Kazuhiko Phen-no, Bune is our mysterious entrant for the tournament." The announcer spoke shocked, the audience all staying quiet as they watched intently as Kazuhiko spoke and revealed those in his peerage.

"Onii-sama!?" Ravel cried in shock, happy tears falling down her cheeks at seeing Kazuhiko alive and well. Rias was shocked at seeing her original fiancee was alive and Sirzechs wondered if this was karma for attempting to force Kazuhiko to be Rias' [Queen]. A glance to Rykeoss told Sirzechs that she was proud of her grandson and even Tannin had a pleased smirk which made sense since he had to have known about Kazuhiko's survival as his daughter was his [Queen].

"Why didn't you tell me he was alive!?" Lord Phenex shouted as he turned to Rykeoss, shrinking at the glare the woman and Lady Phenex was giving him as the former spoke "After how you refused to let me see my grandson, didn't train him to use his powers and allowed Lucifer to try and enslave him in a marriage contract? I would sooner eradicate your family then tell you about him!"

Rias flinched at the words as well, knowing that she was part of the trouble Kazuhiko had been through. Her gaze turned to see her own parents in a hushed argument about Lucile, Rias assuming the girl was her half-sister from the surprise Sirzechs had at learning of her existence as well. It was much the same for the Sitris and the Astaorths as the ladies of the families berated the Lords. Grayfia was staring at Daphne in thought as she wondered how she could be a Lucifuge when her only brother was believed dead.

"He's a Kyuubi...?" Rias spoke surprised at Kazuhiko's final reveal turning to see the pleased smile on Tatsumi's, Rykeoss, Tannin and Amaterasu's faces at seeing the reactions around them.

...

"Now that you've had a look at the ladies of my peerage, I suppose we should start to end this tournament by removing the heavily compensating chicken." The fox-like grin on Kazuhiko's lips grew as he pointed out the lavishly designed box Riser and his peerage sat in, "I don't want to sound rude but... Sona Sitri, Sairaorg Bael, kindly allow me to attend to 'family business' before I face you both."

Sona was still reeling from the fact she had a half-sister and her friend's original fiancee was alive as her eyes widened in understanding to what Kazuhiko was saying, taking a moment to weight up both sides before nodding as she spoke "That's fine with me."

"Kaichou?" Saji asked confused, Sona turning to him quietly as she explained "If he tires himself out against Riser then we can deal with them easier."

"That is fine with me, Kazuhiko Bune." Sairaorg spoke with an understanding tone. Riser scowled as he regarded the team with jealous eyes before barking out "Yubelluna, take care of them!"

"Diana, if you will." Kazuhiko replied, Diana nodding as four sets of dragon wings appeared from her back before she took to the sky swiftly. The pair starting to clash [Power of Destruction] against explosion based magic as Kazuhiko added "Nagi, Sam take care of the [Knights]. Jess, Luci take on the [Rooks]. Himi and Rhian handle the [Pawns], Martina and Daphne, be ready to strike after the first hit."

"Right." The group called as they separated into groups, Kazuhiko taking the lead as he ran towards where Riser was sitting.

"Hyper Instincts!" Kazuhiko called, a [Sky Flame] bursting into life over his forehead but not burning any of his hair while his eyes turned an identical shade of bright orange. The same flames ignited over his hands just before he disappeared in a burst of flame enhanced speed, appearing moments later with his left fist buried into Riser's chin for a moment before the blond was sent flying. Hyper Instincts allowed Kazuhiko to focus his [Sky Flames] to remove his internal limiters, much like Tsuna's [Hyper Dying Will Mode] which it was based on, sharpening his instincts to the point that Kazuhiko could start predicting his opponents' moves and also read body language easier.

Kazuhiko thrust his hands out in front of him to release a blast of flames to send him backwards, dodging the barrage of holy-lightning and ice arrows fired by both Martina and Daphne that rained onto the two [Bishops] who had remained in the box before reappearing on the ground with a faint smirk as the Riser's [Bishops] were both retired under the rain of arrows, turning his gaze to the snarling Riser who was diving towards him "I'll be sure to end you this time."

A giant torrent of flames were shot at Kazuhiko by Riser, making the brunet smirk as he looked at the torrent and intoned "Strelitzia: Sky!"

Orange flames flared over his back, forming into three sets of dragon-like wings which kept him stable as he aimed one hand at the approaching torrent and focusing bright crimson red as he shouted "X-Burner: Storm!"

The beam of [Storm Flames] from Kazuhiko slammed into the torrent from Riser, the latter's flames being destroyed by the former's before they continued at Riser. Riser smirked as he crossed his arms, letting the attack hit him only for him to be shocked as his whole body seemed to be falling apart.

"Stronger then I expected them to be..." Kazuhiko muttered as he looked at the flame in his hand before extinguishing it, Riser's body starting to regenerate as he looked furiously down at the brunet before he jetted himself at his half brother.

"Flame Charge: Sun." Kazuhiko spoke next, sunny yellow flames erupting over his whole body before sinking in to give his body a slight glow before he shot forwards to meet Riser in a rain of fists and kicks.

...

Rhiannon snorted as the two chainsaw wielding twins cut through her body once more, letting her [Phenex Immortality] kick in as flames surged from the wounds to repair her body and clothes before she grasp the broom-spear wielder one of the maids thrust at her before she retorted "Heat Haze: Satan."

Shooting from her free hand the hellish azure flames shot at the maid and destroyed her weapon and retired her before both chainsaws sliced through her waist from behind. Rhiannon disregarded them for a moment as she let her gaze land on the dancer [Pawn], unfurling four sets of flaming dragon wings from her back and making the two [Pawns] behind her back off. She charged at the dancer, slamming a heavy punch into her face that sent her flying before she pointed her hand and called "Asmodeus."

A ball of rainbow coloured flames shot out from her, striking the dancer before detonating into a large explosion that retired her. Rhiannon turned back to face the scared twins with an uninterested look as she muttered "Weaklings."

"Mammon." The redhead spoke, two different flames forming into twin flamberges, one hot blue flames while the other was a cold yellow flame. The two chainsaw twins charged once more infuriated, Rhiannon crossing the blades in front of her before slashing out to unleash a fiery whirlwind of scorching heat at them, melting their weapons and retiring them.

...

Hiromi snorted as one of the Nekomata's fist just slipped off her body, finding it amusing that by just using a thin layer of water over her body she could mimic the [Slip-Slip Devil Fruit's] powers. The two Nekomata twins were working with a blue haired girl with a staff and a maid with a feather duster-whip weapon.

"Water Cane." The bluenette lazily flicked her hand at the maid, a whip of water connected to it slapping her across the face before Hiromi willed it to wrap around the maid's neck. Another flick of her hand caused the maid to fly at her as the staff user's weapon slipped over her stomach. Hiromi grabbed the short girl's head before sending her flying before she aimed her free hand skywards as she entoned "Yamato-no-Orochi!"

A giant water construct of a eight headed dragon formed about her, two heads crunching down on the maid while another grabbed the staff user from the sky. This resulted in those two retiring as the other heads launched themselves at the Nekomata twins.

...

"It would be best if you retire." Nagi spoke kindly as she stood in front of Siris, her katana drawn at the ready. Siris snorted as she swung her sword down at the brunette Sitri. Nagi swung her own sword to block the strike, employing a small shock wave into the strike as she murmured "Attack of the Shark..."

Siris' eyes widened as the shock wave travelled through her body, stunning her muscles as Nagi stepped out of the blade way before delivering several light cuts over the taller woman's joints that made her lose all strength as she collapsed onto her hands and knees while dropping her sword.

"Now you are unable to fight." Nagi spoke as she sheathed her sword, Siris glaring at her as she walked away to see if any of her friends needed her help.

...

Samantha easily dodged another wave of flames from Karlamine's sword as she was wearing her [Flight Armour]. Bringing her own dual short swords to bear as she slashed them against the flaming long-sword as Karlamine spoke eagerly "Now this is a challenge!"

Samantha swung her swords, using the speed boost of her armour to keep up with the [Knight] as they continued to clash, Karlamine smiled and leapt back to retrieve her dagger before unleashing a fiery tornado of wind and flames at her opponent using both blades.

"[Flame Empress Sword] [Wind God Sword]" Samantha spoke quickly, replacing her swords with the fiery red blade and the ornately styled broadsword before she invoked their powers to take control of the attack before turning it on its creator. Karlamine dodged the attack only to be surprised as Samantha slashed out with her appearing [Flight swords] catching her across the thighs before having a thrust aimed at her chest blocked.

"Sensei." Samantha called as she jumped back, Karlamine's eyes widening as a hail of arrows made of holy-lightning fired down on her from Martina's [Heilig Bogen]: a bow which was heart shaped at the middle with the two arms shaped like lightning bolts. Karlamine managed to dodge them only to find herself struck by Samantha's swords once more through the gaps of her armour.

"This is not honourable." Karlamine snapped out, using her sword to bat away another arrow of holy-lightning. Martina and Samantha shared a look before the former retorted "This isn't some honourable duel, girl."

"And I'm not even a [Knight]." Samantha added as she stabbed her sword into Karlamine's chest, making her retire.

...

"Well, ain't this going to be fun." Jessica retorted as she found herself facing one of Riser's [Rooks], Isabella. The half masked woman smirking back as she threw a punch at the redhead only to miss as she dodged and threw her own heavy punch back. The explosion from the yellow gauntlet of Jessica's Sacred Gear surprised her opponent before the brunette's other fist landed an uppercut that combined with the explosion sent her skywards.

Isabella flipped in the air before crossing her arms to block the follow up punch that Jessica had leapt after her to deliver, surprising Riser's [Rook] at how fast the redhead could move by utilising her Sacred Gear.

"Aww~ I was expecting you to be better!" Jessica called, punctuating her words by slamming a knee into the half masked woman's crossed arms before bringing both her arms down in a hammer blow to her head that sent her to the ground.

...

Lucile lent back to dodge the roundhouse kick the Chinese [Rook], Xuelan, had launched at her, her [Soul Merge: Kappa] form aiding to help her move faster and with more agility while two kunai made of water were held in her hands. She lashed out to draw cuts over the back of the knee and thigh of Xuelan before Lucile somersaulted to avoid the other leg swinging out at her.

"Quit dodging." Xuelan retorted annoyed, Lucile throwing her kunai at her, both weapons evaporating under the flames that came from her hands, before gathering the moisture out of the air for her next attack.

"Water Shuriken." She called, moulding the water into a giant shuriken over her head before launching the spinning weapon at her opponent before gathering more water into her hands. Xuelan's flaming fist struck the spinning shuriken, boiling the water that made it, before a voice from behind her drew her attention.

"[Ice Make: Ape!]" Daphne called, sending a giant frozen ape at Xuelan who quickly found herself on the defensive from fighting the frozen construct while thin beams of high pressured water came at her from behind at Lucile's command.

...

Yubelluna panicked as she tried to dodge Diana's [Shooting Buster], an attack that fired off a machine gun spray of [Power of Destruction] bullets at her. Any explosive magic Riser's [Queen] tried to use was destroyed by a refined ball of the Bael clan ability with shocking ease. Letting out a cry as a bullet struck her side, Yubelluna fired off as many magic spells she could at the draconic [Queen] only for her eyes to widen as Diana spoke "Black Barrier!"

A spherical shield rose around Diana destroying the attacks that tried to strike her, Yubelluna watching in shock and awe as the shield formed into a giant dragon head with glowing red eyes which seemed to be coming from Diana's hands as she spoke "Vanishing World."

A massive laser attack of [Power of Destruction] shot from its mouth at Yubelluna, who instinctively threw up several barriers in front of her to no avail before she was retired.

A small smile formed on Diana's lips as she recalled how she and Kazuhiko had a brief argument about that attack and its uses when she could just unleash [Power of Destruction] in a single pillar. Kazuhiko had pointed out that it acted as a shield for opponents coming from the front as well as a good gather point for her power to fire from. They had both agreed that she could change the head that would form and Tannin had chortled at seeing his own head facing him during a spar with both his daughter and her mate/[King].

...

"I'll kill you." Riser snarled as he launched dozens of fireballs at Kazuhiko once more, Kazuhiko snorted quietly at Riser regenerated his dying arm once more. The brunet had been using his [Sun Flames] in a way to instil cellular death wherever his [Sun Flame] enhanced body struck in the few minutes his [Flame Charge] spell worked, the timer having run out seconds before the current assault on him.

"You didn't kill be back then, you won't be able to now." Kazuhiko calmly replied as he pointed a finger at Riser and counterattacked "Burner Finger 1: Cloud!"

The beam of violet flames shot from Kazuhiko's finger, Riser's eyes widening at seeing the beam multiple into dozens within seconds and destroyed the incoming attacks before piercing his body several times.

"Hahaha! You think all these pitiful wounds are going to stop me!" Riser shouted defiantly, Kazuhiko cupping his hands together by his hip as he replied "No, but they'll delay you long enough for me to deal the final blow."

"Really? I'd like to see you try, half breed." Riser shouted in a challenging tone, only now noticing that violet flames still lingered in his wounds to hinder his regeneration. He flared his flames to try and overpower the flames Kazuhiko had struck him with not noticing that in Kazuhiko's cupped hands a small ball of [Ki] started to form as the brunet slowly spoke "KA...ME...HA...ME...HA!"

With each syllable spoken, Kazuhiko's [Ki] ball grew till it finally settled into a football sized sphere which he thrust forwards at the end and fired a beam at Riser and destroying most of his body once it struck. Riser stared in shock as he tumbled out of the sky, his body failing to regenerate from how the [Ki] attack had disrupted it enough to stop any chance of healing for the near future before he was retired by the system to save him from missing most of his body.

...

"Fufufu, your grandson sure is intelligent to take human imagination to another level." Amaterasu spoke with a giggle, drawing surprised looks at Tatsumi as if it had just clicked that he was Kazuhiko's grandfather.

"What do you mean?" Lord Phenex asked shocked as he watched his two sons fight, the younger of which showing he was stronger without any of his own input as Ravel spoke "[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]... Kazu-niisama based his flames off them. I saw him training with them when I was young perfecting them and [Hyper Instincts] while no one was aware or cared about training him."

"That's right." Rykeoss answered, "My grandson took those flames and searched out through anime and games for characters who used fire magic and complied into a list of moves he worked to recreate. He even suggested other characters for his peerage to take inspiration from with their own talents and affinities. His use of [Senjutsu] is behind most Yokai his age but still useful in this situation."

Rykeoss' gaze settled on Rias Gremory's gaping visage as the redhead realised that Kazuhiko was as much an Otaku as she was as Rykeoss added "You would have probably been happy with him if only you hadn't listened to Riser's venomous tongue and myself and my husband was allowed to visit and teach him."

Rias shook at hearing that realising that was very likely to have happened had she not listened to Riser in the first place and watched as Kazuhiko took out Riser with apparent ease.

...

"Woah..." Saji spoke as he stared at the iconic [Ki] blast Kazuhiko had used against Riser before the two blue fireballs retired him. He'd figured out that Kazuhiko and his peerage were using animes for their abilities and passed that on to Sona after seeing some of the girls fight.

Koneko shook in fear at seeing and sensing the signs of [Senjutsu] from Kazuhiko and the chance someone as dangerous as him could be in charge of her former [King]. Akeno was glaring at Martina at seeing her using holy-lightning and believing that her father hadn't been as faithful to her mother despite the fact Martina was older then Akeno.

"Tsubaki now!" Sona ordered as she decided to take the moment to surprise attack them. Tsubaki materialised the mirror and took a moment to aim at Kazuhiko's peerage before a powerful beam of magic shot from it at them.

...

Samantha dashed in front of the group at seeing the beam of magic firing towards them, holding her arms up as she invoked her Sacred Gear and called "Adamantine Armour!"

A set of large silver and navy coloured armour formed over Samantha's body. The breastplate composed of different plates joined together, with four, prominent tube-like ornaments on the front, right above her breasts, and below the high armoured collar. The shoulder pads are very large and sport prominent plates shaped like spikes, protruding from a far darker part which composes the base of the structure. The helmet covered the top and sides of Samantha's face, leaving the back of her head exposed while also sporting prominent spikes jutting outwards.

The shield portions on both arms fitted together in front of her as a large defensive magic circle appeared a few feet in front of her to take the magical blast. Samantha screwed up her face in concentration as she endured the attack, feeling part of her shields cracking before a surge of neon green flames covered her body, strengthening it and adding power to her shield as she glanced to see Kazuhiko standing next to her with a deep scowl and green flames come from both of his hands. The attack ended moments later and Kazuhiko's peerage was quick to retaliate against the surprise attack of Sitri Team.

"Ice Cavalry!" Daphne snapped angrily as she made numerous ice centaurs form, each armed with spears, swords or bows, which charged forwards at the surprised group in response for the surprise attack.

"Fire Dragon: Leviathan!"

"Yamato-no-Orochi!"

Rhiannon and Hiromi called respectively as a giant, silver flame dragon and eight headed water dragon rose around them before charging at the Sitri Team from opposite flanks. Attempts to destroy the attacks was met with failure as while fire magic could destroy the icy centaurs, the moment Rhiannon's frozen flame dragon came into range the heat was sapped from the area around them. Tsubasa and Koneko continued to punch through the centaurs only to find that the eight headed water dragon was too agile for them to hit and Sona's own water serpent had turned to ice the moment Rhiannon's attack struck it with a body blow.

"Chaos Nightmare!" Diana called from where she was in the sky, a giant ball of [Power of Destruction] floating above her raised hand before she flung it down on their attackers. Tsubaki reacted quickly to throw up a mirror from her Sacred Gear: [Mirror Alice] to reflect the attack only for it to fail and continue its descent onto the boxed in group.

Kuisha Abaddon suddenly flew in front of the attack, holding her arms out to the side as she willed her [Power of the Hole] to create a hole big enough to take in the attack. She smiled pleased at protecting her allies only to have to suddenly dodge as Diana threw a punch at her head, having followed behind her attack to use it as a decoy. Kuisha opened a hole to release the attack back at the half dragon only for her eyes to widen as the attack missed Diana before a dozen or so bullets of [Power of Destruction] shot forth in an erratic manner, evading the holes Kuisha opened to try and catch them.

Several pain filled cried, made the blonde turn to see several of the ice centaurs had ran through Sona Sitri with their spears and swords, causing the whole peerage to retire soon before a heavy punch slammed into Kuisha's face and sent her crashing into the ground below.

...

"No!" Rias screamed in shock at seeing Sona and her peerage retire from the tournament. She felt hollow as she collapsed into her chair as tears started to trickle down from her eyes as her hope for Sona to win came crashing down. She had believed that her childhood friend and her former peerage members would win this and now Sona had been taken out by the angered counterattack by Kazuhiko's peerage at her trying to take advantage of the situation.

The fact Riser had lost before Sona, did little to ease her concern as it was down to Kazuhiko and her cousin, Sairaorg, who would win her. Rias knew she wasn't strong enough for her to compete with either group's servants and she didn't think sex appeal or beauty would help her with how she had treated Kazuhiko when they were younger and especially as he had a whole team of beauties. Her thoughts froze for a moment at the realisation that Kazuhiko could humiliate her for what she had did to him and for believing Riser's lies if he didn't decide to just trade her away as some sort of bargaining chip.

...

Samantha centred herself after the warmth she had felt at the reactions of Rhiannon, Hiromi, Daphne and Diana at her defending them against the surprise attack. She knew that they were now in a one on one fight with the Bael Team while those four worked to mop up the Sitri Team.

"Requip: Lightning Empress Armour." Samantha spoke changing into the electric themed armour and holding the spear weapon at the ready as Kazuhiko spoke "I'll try and keep Sairaorg distracted. Be quick with finishing off the others as I think we're going to need our all to beat him."

"Right." Samantha, Nagi, Jessica, Martina and Lucile spoke in agreement as they moved towards Sairaorg's peerage once he charged at Sairaorg.

"Sam, Nagi, Martina, let's see what damage we can do together." Lucile asked, getting nods as Nagi and Lucile both gathered a lot of water together while Samantha and Martina gathered thunder magic together.

"Cascada/ Tidal Wave!" Nagi and Lucile called, releasing a giant tidal wave of water between them before Samantha and Martina aimed their hands at it and called "Thunderbolt!"

The tidal wave of electrified water surged forwards, both of Sairaorg's [Knights] evading it quickly while the [Bishops] took to the sky as it crashed down onto the [Rooks]. Ladora Bune changed into his Dragon Form and used it average sized build to block the attack with aid of his fire breath and dragon scales while Gandoma tanked the attack with his resistance to magic.

"Seele Schneider." Martina called, creating the vibrating sword of holy-lightning to cut through the lance Beruka Furcas tried to attack her with from behind on his horse. The armoured man turned back to face Martina, discarding his broken lance after admiring the damage done to it.

"Impressive." Beruka spoke intrigued, opening a magic circle to pull out his spare lance as the others of her group moved to focus on the others of Sairaorg's peerage. Lightning arced over Martina's legs before using her version of [Hirenkyaku] to increase her speed as she charged forwards to meet Beruka's own charge in the middle. The two weapons clashed only to end up with destroying another of Beruka's lances before she grabbed the remaining portion and intoned "Galvano Blast!"

The powerful bolt of holy-lightning blasted Beruka off his horse as it shot through the metal lance, leaving him to struggle to get back to his feet as his body spasmed as scorch marks covered the arm of his armour along with several other portions near it. He looked up to see Martina approaching as he chuckled before falling forward unconscious and soon being retired.

...

Sairaorg Bael had moved to help his peerage the moment the barrage of attacks had been launched only to find himself punched in the face by Kazuhiko and sent back several feet. Getting back up, Sairaorg rubbed his jaw as Kazuhiko's wings dispersed but the flame atop of his head was still burning brightly as he spoke "Impressive punch."

"Thanks." Kazuhiko spoke calmly, slipping into a simple stance as Sairaorg grinned eagerly before throwing a punch at the brunet. Sairaorg's eyes widened as Kazuhiko seemed to split into six clones which all evaded the punch and finding himself on the recieving end of a punch to the stomach, three kicks to the back of his head and two kicks aimed at his knees before they all jumped back to surround him.

"Looks like this will be fun." Sairaorg spoke with a grin, rubbing the back of his head to try and sooth the more noticeable pain there before charging forwards in a speed Kazuhiko barely followed with his concentration split amongst the copies. The brunet in front of Sairaorg ducked reflexively, a shockwave continuing past him as he countered with an uppercut coated in [Rain Flames] which snapped Sairaorg's head upwards before a backhanded swing by the Bael heir sent two charging clones flying while [Rain Flames] coated his arm before they exploded into smoke.

Another two of the clones struck kicks at Sairaorg once more, who had lifted an arm up to guard himself from behind hit in the head once more while a kick behind disperse the last of the clone. He swung his fist to destroy the last two clones before turning to where Kazuhiko stood, several feet back from where he had started and blazing orange wings back on full display.

Kazuhiko frowned in concentration before they both disappeared in a burst of speed, their fists meeting in a flurry of blows. Sairaorg seemingly ignoring the effects of the [Rain Flames] or bringing more of his power to the forefront to compensate for it as each of Kazuhiko's punches were blocked or deflected while his own ones were dodged or deflected with a few landing home on the part Kyuubi, the last of which sent him flying.

Kazuhiko spun in the air before making a three point landing as Sairaorg spoke "I must say that I expected you to show some power of your Bune heritage. After all, my [Rook] has unlocked his [Dragon Form]."

"Well, your [Rook] hasn't got proper training in its use. The [Dragon Form] is only the start if he isn't creative enough. [Dragon Force]." Kazuhiko replied slightly annoyed, retracting his Kyuubi features before a black scale-like pattern crept up the sides of his neck and covered his cheeks to the point they neared the outer corner of his eyes while his eyes turned dragon-like with slitted pupils. Black scales also covered his hands, continuing up his arms till they covered his elbows if his clothes weren't covering them while his fingernails sharped into claws. The orange flames grew more intense, darker and hotter as his dragon flame was incorporated into the demonic flames and while Kazuhiko wouldn't class himself as a [Dragon Slayer], due to not having any [Dragon Slayer Magic] like those in [Fairy Tail], this form did reduce the magic cost for his fire magic spells and provide him with the extra additions like power, speed. The last thing Kazuhiko did was swap out his [Rain Flames] for [Lightning Flames] -which were actual flames unlike their anime counterpart but still were neon green in colour- which moulded into twin gauntlets over his fists.

"Oh, I'll have to tell him about this form later." Sairaorg spoke with an enthusiastic laugh, Kazuhiko disappearing in a burst of speed which Sairaorg soon copied as they went back to brawling, craters opening up in the ground underneath them and shockwaves left where their fists and feet struck against each other.

...

Samantha swung her sword to deflect the torrent of flames from the Ladora's mouth, who was still in his Dragon Form - a black western dragon. She had changed into her [Flame Empress Armour] at the start of their fight to give her some further protection and had armed herself with the giant blade from the [Purgatory Armour] and had even left a few scratches on its scales.

Her armour and weapons came from her Sacred Gear: [War Forge], a Sacred Gear that embodied the power to create anything tied to war for her use. Kazuhiko had been the one to suggest Erza's [Requip Magic] along with weapons from other anime series and Samantha had felt almost giddy at the prospect and while first training with her power. She had even learnt [Rune Magic] with Rykeoss and Daphne's help and applied them to her armour and weapons to make them gain various effects when she applied them.

'Maybe I should bring out my Runes with one of my custom weapons.' Samantha thought, jumping out of the way of a dragon claw and dismissing her [Purgatory Sword] before speaking "Enki: Bow Form. Caladbolg: Arrow Form"

A golden bow made out of two swords attached at the hilts appeared in one hand while a slender spiral bladed sword appeared in the other. The two [Fate Series] weapons drew a scowl from Ladora as he sent another blast of flames at the greenette to try and stop her from using them.

"Satan!" Rhiannon called, blasting a gout of [Satan's Blaze] to counter the dragon flames as she glanced to Samantha and gave her an approving nod "I'll cover you, Sam."

"Thank you. Give me two minutes" Samantha spoke, spreading her two sets of devil wings so she could take to the sky while Rhiannon nodded as a swipe of Ladora's claws did little against her [Phenex Regeneration].

"Is that the best you can do?" Rhiannon taunted, giving a fanged smirk as the air shimmered due to the heat as she spoke "Let's see how you handle, Beelzebub!"

The invisible flames of [Beelzebub] launched from Rhiannon's thrusting hand striking Ladora in the side and making him cry out in pain as the intense heat burnt his scales. Her flaming dragon wings appeared from Rhiannon's back as she took to the sky quickly, Ladora's eyes catching a gleam from a dozen feet away before Samantha fired Caladbolg. The sword-turned-arrow detonated the moment it hit the burnt scales, releasing a giant explosion that seemed to consume Ladora's form.

"Nice shot. That's a lot bigger then normal." Rhiannon commented to Samantha, the greenette smiling as she replied "I added the runes I use for my copy of [Excalibur Destruction]."

When the smoke cleared Ladora was fading in the light that accompanied being retired, the pair of [Pawns] turning to see who was in need of their help before setting off.

...

Lucile threw several orbs of water at Misteeta Sabnock, dodging the magic attacks aimed back at her. Misteeta was teleporting short distances around to avoid Lucile's attacks resulting in them being on even ground before the latter fired off a dozen water arrows the leading two of which struck Misteeta's arm before he could teleport into the air again.

Lucile was suddenly struck by a feeling of weakness as blue runes covered her body, forcing her out of his [Soul Merge: Kappa] form as Misteeta pointed his staff at her as he spoke "My [Trick Vanish] has sealed your power. Let's see you dodge my magic now."

Lucile dove out of the way of several arrows of wind magic that Misteeta shot at her, rolling to her feet before firing back crimson demonic bullets as she retorted "Just because I don't have my [Soul Merge] power doesn't mean I'm defenceless."

Three sets of devil wings appeared from Lucile's back before she charged at the floating [Bishop], conjuring a large ball of crimson demonic magic in both hands before slamming them into the young boy's chest. Misteeta screamed in pain as he was sent towards the ground, Lucile conjuring a dozen magic circles of different elemental attacks before raining them down on him and retiring him from the bombardment.

Lucile let out a slow breathe as the runes over her body faded and felt her power return to her, glancing around to see if anyone needed her help before making her move.

...

Nagi and Liban crossed blades once more as the two [Knights] dashed around, the former working to avoid the latter's Sacred Gear: [Gravity Jail] from affecting her.

"Shigure Soen Ryu: Splashing Rain." Nagi calmly spoke, flipping her sword so she held it backwards before spinning to create a whirlpool-like shield with her water magic. Liban's sword bounced off the barrier of water before throwing out his free hand to freeze it only to be surprised at Nagi trying to strike him from behind. He brought his own sword up to guard only to be surprised as Nagi switched hands mid-swing and changed the direction to it struck across Liban's unguarded waist.

'Early Summer Rain.' Nagi thought as Liban was sent into the frozen whirlpool. Her next attack was blocked by the [Knight's] sword before the water of Nagi's blade was frozen, resulting in her jumping back to avoid any more ice magic aimed at her.

"Your ambidexterous." Liban spoke surprised, covering his wound in ice as they walked calmly in a circle with their gazes locked on the other before Nagi melted the ice on her sword with a uttering of "Hirviendo."

"I suppose I can step things up a level." Nagi added, taking a ready stance with her katana pointed at Liban before she shot forwards as a torrent of water wrapped over her. Liban threw his hand up to freeze the water, only for his eyes to widen as Nagi appeared above the ice and swung her sword down as she called "Cascada!"

Liban stared at the water surging down on him before having to block Nagi's sword with his own, even as the water was falling down at them from behind her. Liban tried to counterattack only to realise his muscles were stunned as Nagi sped away from the oncoming attack, managing to make slow steps only to freeze at seeing Nagi releasing another tidal wave of water down on him to box him in. The crashing of so much water overwhelmed Liban's attempts to freeze it before he was retired.

...

Jessica ducked under the punch of Gandoma, rapid firing two punches into his stomach with addition of explosive power of her Sacred Gear that made him skid back a little before he threw a right hook that the brunette ducked. The fact the two were both from the [Balam Clan] meant that they both had high resistance to magic as well as super strength and so the fight turned into a brawl to see who was stronger. Gandoma was stronger but Jessica had better reflexes from her spars with Kazuhiko and Diana.

As the pair continued to trade punches, Jessica managed to land more hits then Gandoma despite his longer reach and more power.

"Jess, get back." Rhiannon called, Jessica firing explosive rounds from both yellow gauntlets to send herself back several feet before a torrent of black [Belphegor] flames crashed onto Gandoma. Jessica smirked in realisation at what the ginger haired [Pawn] was doing, using the [Belphegor] flames to nullify Gandoma's special powers to make it easier for herself.

"Now!" Rhiannon called as she flew above the pair, cutting off her flames as Jessica launched herself forwards with her gauntlets at a shocking speed before throwing out a heavy right hook which struck Gandoma on the cheek and sent him flying with the aid of the explosive round.

Jessica ran after him, smirking pleased as she dodged a punch before throwing an uppercut into Gandoma's chin which was dodged before an explosion went off in his face from the gauntlet. He stumbled back before a fist slammed into his nose, sending him crumbling to the ground with a broken nose.

Rhiannon joined in as she threw two balls of [Satan] flame at Gandoma, burning him before Jessica started to fire off dozen of rounds from her gauntlets to where the [Rook] was laying. The smoke faded moments later to reveal that Gandoma was being retired with numerous burns marks on his body.

...

Diana resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she blocked the attacked by Coriana Andrealphus, who had came to back up Kuisha, with the ten orbs of [Power of Destruction] that was orbiting her in her own variant of Sirzechs' [Ruin the Extinct]. Each orb was only the size of tennis ball but fully malleable to be able to alter its own size to destroy attacks aimed at her.

Dashing forwards, Diana let her orbs shoot off ahead to distract Kuisha from her true target, the blonde [Queen] falling for it as she opened a dozen holes to absorb the attacks before her eyes widened at seeing Diana punch out Coriana with shocking ease. Kuisha looked shocked before one of the remaining orbs struck her back, retiring her as well instantly.

"Kaz-sama needs some help." Diana murmured as she set off to help Kazuhiko against Sairaorg, the latter who was releasing an intense pressure as the ground cratered underneath him.

...

Kazuhiko took a few moments to regain his breathe as he covered his chest and right arm in [Sun Flames] to enhance his [Phenex Regeneration] to make it near instantaneous to fix his right arm and his cracked ribs after Sairaorg had released his full power and landed a punch. Kazuhiko knew he was lucky to have blocked it with his [Lightning Flame] covered arm which had caused the limb to break in several places from the power involved and just about avoid his ribs suffering more then cracks.

'I can't believe I forgot to add my [Fox Fire] to my flames earlier.' Kazuhiko berated himself sourly, glancing to his [Sun Flames]. He had only been using his [Devil Magic] in his flames from the start of the tournament and hadn't thought to add his [Fox Fire] to them after the reveal, meaning that his flames weren't at their natural full strength when he fought Riser despite acting stronger at times. The appearance of his flames had changed as well as while his dragon flames had made parts of them a bit darker and his [Fox Fire] had made parts lighter meaning that there was three different shades of flames mixing and working together in harmony.

Lifting his gaze after testing his repaired arm, Kazuhiko was glad that his [Flame Dragons] made out of [Cloud Flames] were keeping Sairaorg somewhat distracted as everyone he blew apart with his [Touki] enhanced punches were replaced by a dozen more that all bite or clawed at him.

"Kaz, are you alright?" Diana asked concerned as she came to land next to him, looking him over for serious injuries as he replied "I'll be fine. I took care of most of the serious ones already."

"That's good." Martina spoke after she appeared with sparks over her legs before she added "How are we going to deal with Sairaorg?"

"We need to turn off his [Touki]..." Daphne started, sending a wave of [Ice Cavalry] to help out Kazuhiko's [Flame Dragon: Cloud] in distracting the Bael heir while they strategized.

"Why don't we just drown him?" Hiromi asked, Diana countering first as the others of their peerage gathered around them, "He'll just flare his [Touki] and burst whatever bubble of water you put around him. His [Touki] is enhancing his body beyond its normal power due to his life force."

"We can just do the same thing me and Jess did with Gandoma." Rhiannon spoke up, Jessica nodding in agreement as she added "Once its down we can wail on the guy until he can't get up."

"I don't know if that'll be enough." Kazuhiko muttered in thought, getting surprised looks from the other as he added "I'll have to go Ultimate..."

"Alright." Diana spoke seriously, understanding that Kazuhiko wanted to be sure they won now as she turned to the others and started giving orders, "Rhian use [Belphegor] and turn off his [Touki]. Himi, you with Nagi try and use your [Water Magic] to keep him pinned in one place or try and land lots of light wounds. Sam use your [Flight Armour] and try and spam him with swords but keep your distance. Luci, go into [Minotaur Form] and with Jess try and distract him up close, work with Rhian and try and all of you try to avoid getting punched, I don't know if any of us can survive one given how easily he's destroying the dragons and centaurs distracting him. Martina, Daphne I want you to strike from range and act as defenders for those up close."

Kazuhiko smiled slightly at seeing his [Queen] take the reins as he added "I only need a few minutes but once I go 'Ultimate' fall back, I don't want you serious hurt in this tournament. Diana, Rhian, Himi, use your [Dragon Forms] just to be careful."

"Right Kazu-sama." The group spoke together, the trio of dragonesses taking the lead in the charge as they each changed into her [Dragon Forms].

Hiromi turned into an Asian Dragon with shimmer blue scales reminiscent of flowing water that was at least ten meters long. Diana turned into a ten meter tall humanoid Dragon like her father and was covered in dark purple scales with lighter scales over her front while a metal bikini-like armour covered her private areas. Rhiannon turned into a red Western Dragon with a single set of wings on her back and was about the same size as Diana when sitting on her hind legs.

The three dragonesses broke off into separate directions as they made their charge at the Bael heir, Jessica, Lucile, Samantha and Nagi charging forwards while Martina and Daphne took to the skies on their wings.

"[Soul Merge: Minotaur]" Lucile called, her body engulfed in light as she started to change.

Once the light faded, she now wore a light brown skimpy one-piece suit, which reveals her arms and legs and was open on the front and the back, exposing most of her belly and cleavage. Dark brown fur covered her now thick bull-like legs, which made her taller, and ended in black hooves. Her arms were covered in opera length gloves of dark brown fur which reached to cover the back of her hands while the rest of her hands were covered in black. Coming from out of the top of her head was two curved, black, bull horns which came to a stop just under her human ears while her hair was corser and free of its ponytail. Her eyes were pools of molten chocolate and her lips were painted black to finish her look along with what was visible of her body being tanned darker then normal.

Kazuhiko watched nervously as they started the plan, dropping out of his [Dragon Force] form and dismissed his [Flame Dragon: Cloud] so he could focus as Rhiannon and Diana launched their black flames, [Belphegor] and [Power of Destruction] infused respectively, while Hiromi brought up towers of water to block any punch that seemed close to landing on one of her allies.

"So you all have come to buy your [King] some time to recover?" Sairaorg questioned with a pleased smile, "I won't let my guard down even for you all as your power must surely be impressive to defeat my peerage."

'Right. Focus Kazuhiko.' Kazuhiko thought to himself, taking a calming breathe before speaking "Flame Commandment: Sky!"

A swing of his arm saw the [Sky Flames] swirl around where he stood, widening till the edge ended about a three feet away from him as he watched Martina shoot arrows of holy-lightning down with Daphne's Ice arrows, Samantha's swords and Jessica's explosive rounds. Sairaorg was withstanding the attacks and even damaging the girls with the shock waves off of his punches as the girls managed to dodge them, making Kazuhiko move onto the next stage as he pulled the flames to wrap around him in a large ball before Rhiannon released a giant gout of black [Belphegor] flames at Sairaorg, engulfing him.

Diana fired her own flames to engulf the Bael heir before a shock wave sent them all flying, revealing Sairaorg who was smoking from his singed clothes and seemed to lack the white aura of [Touki] around him as Jessica called "It's down!"

"Hoh! Ridding me of my [Touki] was your plan?" Sairaorg asked curiously, Rhiannon smirking as she replied "We know that [Touki] is the strongest part of your powers aside from your body. Getting rid of that means our [King] will win."

The young women leapt back giving Sairaorg a clear line of sight for where Kazuhiko was encapsulated in the ball of orange flames, the Bael heir looking intrigued as he wondered what the brunet would do.

"Ultimate Instincts!" Kazuhiko called, the orb of [Sky Flames] collapsing in on themselves as they were absorbed into Kazuhiko's body. The flare of power that followed coated Kazuhiko in a thin layer of [Sky Flames] that resembled an aura while the flame on his head had tripled in size and his eyes retained the blazing orange from before.

"Strelitzia: Gluttony." Kazuhiko spoke, his flaming wings reformed on his back but this time they were made of dark orange flames that had thin streams of violet running through them, showing that they were made of a mixture of [Sky] and [Cloud] flames. He shot forwards at blinding speed, cratering the ground where he had stood as he charged at Sairaorg and reared back his fist for his first attack in this form.

"Burning Axle: Sloth!" Kazuhiko called as he wrapped his fist in a pale orange flame with blue shimmering streaks, a mixture of [Sky] and [Rain] flames, and landed a punch into Sairaorg's gut, shocking him at the power and speed before being sent skidding back by the force.

Ultimate Instincts acted much like [Ultimate Dying Will Mode] as it enhanced his control over his flames once more as well as further sharpening of his senses and removing any hesitation he had for fighting an opponent. Kazuhiko's version had been expanded to allow him to use his other flames with his [Sky Flames] to make combinations like Xanxus' [Wrath Flames] and combining their powers which he had taken to referring by one of the [Seven Deadly Sins].

Kazuhiko jetted at Sairaorg once more, using the [Sloth] combination around his fists as he started to release a barrage of high speed punches at him while using his wings to dodge most of the counterattacks Sairaorg tried against him, leaving the Bael heir grinning at the rather even looking fight. Sairaorg kept his hands up in a boxer-like block as he continued to duck and weave while throwing the odd punch out to try and strike the brunet.

...

Rias watched with shock as three of Kazuhiko's peerage turned into Dragons as they whole peerage moved to face Sairaorg. It quickly turned to smugness at seeing that Sairaorg could hold them all off before Sirzechs commented "They really are fighting tactically."

"What?" Rias asked, turning to her brother as he continued "If they fought head on Sairaorg's [Touki] would cause major damage to them with any attack that struck them. That's also why they are dodging or covering each other to avoid Sairaorg's attacks while trying to pin him in one spot. Their true aim is to negate that power as [Touki] acts as a defense as much as it boosts his attack and speed. If that is negated then whatever Kazuhiko is planning will have a better chance for working against him."

Rykeoss smiled at seeing Kazuhiko's peerage working together, pleased that her teamwork exercises with them was bearing fruit at seeing them team up against Sairaorg to buy Kazuhiko time to tap into the next level of his flame based power. She had watched since she had taken Kazuhiko in as he practised with [Ultimate Instincts] to work it into a usable power but the strain it put on his body was much more then its previous form with the ability to combine the other flames with the [Sky]. A glance to Tatsumi, told her that her husband had also witnessed such training while not learning to harness his Bune heritage or [Senjutsu].

"H-How!?" Rias spoke shocked at watching how things turned around so quickly with Kazuhiko's rejoining of the battle, Rykeoss smirking as she decided to explain "Ultimate Instincts allows him to combine the [Sky] with the other flames and, without [Touki], Sairaorg doesn't have the overwhelming advantage it provides so he can easily keep up with the [Gluttony] combination of [Sky] and [Cloud] which means Propulsion plus Propagation."

"Wha...?" Rias asked confused, Tatsumi shaking his head as he explained "She means that even the smallest amount of magic Kazu-kun feeds to those wings get multiplied by the [Cloud] part before being supplied to the [Sky] part to allow him to move faster while only using the smallest amount of magic. The [Sloth] allows him to take energy from those it strikes and use that energy to power up the [Tranquillity] of the [Rain] which further helps slow down the opponent that was struck."

"So, the longer they clash the weaker Sairaorg is going to become while Kazuhiko-kun's limits are just how long he can hold that form and his magic reserves." Ajuka mused impressed at the Bune heir, Rykeoss nodding as she added "That's true but it looks like he won't have to worry about that problem."

...

Kazuhiko ducked under Sairaorg's next punch, his instincts reacting to send another [Sloth] flame powered punch into the powerful [King's] stomach. He had lost count of the number of punches he had landed on the Bael heir so far and the fact Sairaorg could still react to his attacks spoke of his skill and the amount of training he had put into his body. Leaping over the next punch, Kazuhiko flipped himself upside down in mid-air and backhanded Sairaorg away several feet before both landed on their feet.

Sairaorg swayed as the effects of Kazuhiko's flames became more noticeable, burns littering his body as he dropped to one knee with a pleased look as he looked to where his opponent stood.

"A...Amazing... I... I didn't... think... that... such... a... plan... would work...against me." Sairaorg spoke slowly, the effects of [Rain Flames] and his own exhaustion mingling in how he spoke slowly as Kazuhiko panted heavily as he dropped out of his [Ultimate Instincts] form himself and then fell to one knee as the toll on his body hit. He hadn't reached his limit for using that power but any longer would leave him bedridden from over straining his body and he was pretty sure that his instincts were correct that the fight had now ended.

"It... It seemed like the best... way to counter power... with my own techniques." Kazuhiko replied as he forced himself back onto his feet as he subconsciously drew on his [Senjutsu] to heal himself somewhat as he stood back. His peerage rushed up behind him with Diana wrapped an arm around her [King's] waist to avoid him falling over again while Samantha hugged his other side. Each of the girls of Kazuhiko's peerage looked rather roughed up from their brief fight with Sairaorg, even with the plan in place to ensure they would protect each other from his powerful punches.

"I suppose... I have learnt something from... fighting you and your peerage... Teamwork is as... important as... overwhelming strength. In the end... I got over...confident about my...[Touki] and training and... when I lost the former... you... capitalised on it with your techniques... those flames." Sairaorg chuckled slowly as he looked at the team in front of him that had beaten him.

"Maybe we can have a rematch in the future or something." Kazuhiko suggested, Sairaorg nodding slowly before falling backwards unconscious and hit the ground before he was retired. He and his peerage shared grins at realising that they had won before they were transported away as well.

"And that it!" The announcer called shocked and amazed, the audience roaring in cheers and he continued "With Sairaorg Bael's defeat. Kazuhiko Bune is the last [King] standing and so the winner of the Tournament of Kings is him!"

...

Author's Note

I'm not too sure about a couple fights mainly the one against Sona and her peerage cause its rather quick over all especially due to the surprise attack. The Sairaorg Kazuhiko fight is another as my intention is that Kazuhiko is more Speed and Technique based and against someone like Sairaorg, whose literally a walking tank, Ultimate Instincts - which is Kazu's version of Ultimate Dying Will Mode like Hyper Instincts is Hyper Dying Will Mode - is probably the only way for him to win at this current time. As for Dragon Force, I figure its a partial transformation into Kazu's Dragon Form which he made after attaining it to make him gain some of the advantages but retain his normal body given he's more comfortable in it then his Dragon one.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter although parts of it I'm unsure about given this is now going in my own direction. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter and what happens to Rias.

...

"After the last three days of intense battles, Kazuhiko Bune has become the first ever King of Kings." The announcer shouted, the crowd was roaring in approval as the highlights of Kazuhiko and his peerage was shown on monitors behind him before signalling to the magic circle that appeared to his right as he called "And here they are to accept their prize."

Kazuhiko and his peerage appeared from the magic circle, each of them having been checked over by the medical staff from their final battles with Sairaorg and the Bael peerage. Along with them was Rykeoss who was looking proudly at her grandson while resting a hand on his shoulder to reassure him in front of the massive crowd. Several magic circles appeared on the other side of the stage to bring the visiting Deities from the other Factions and the four Maou appeared along with Grayfia and a despondent Rias.

"Kazu-kun!" Several cries were heard from the audience, Kazuhiko blushing as he waved to the crowd and was soon followed by his peerage as each had gained fans from the audience.

Sirzechs stepped forwards to start speaking "Kazuhiko Bune, I'd like to congratulate you on your impressive victory in the Tournament of Kings and becoming the King of Kings. Here is proof of your victory and your prize money."

With that Grayfia walked forward to hand over an over-elaborate trophy that was topped with a large crown that had various jewels embedded into it. It was also at least half Kazuhiko's height and was made out of gold. Following behind her was another attractive young woman holding one of those giant cheques he had seen on television.

"Thank you." Kazuhiko spoke as he accepted the from the silver haired maid, not sparing Sirzechs much more then a glance as he held the trophy up for the audience. Flashes of cameras told him that photographers and reporters were in the crowd to report on the tournament and that no doubt he would have sent shock waves through the Underworld.

Kazuhiko handed the trophy to Diana, getting a slight smile from the ravenette before he turned back and accepting the giant cheque as Sirzechs spoke "You also shall have my sister, Rias, as your servant along with her remaining servant."

'She still has one member left in her peerage?' Kazuhiko thought curiously, turning his gaze to Rias and feeling a little vindicated at the turnabout from when they were younger as Sirzechs added almost pleadingly, so that just the two of them could hear, "Please take good care of her, despite what happened before."

Kazuhiko barely resisted the urge to react in a way to rub in what the crimson haired man had tried to do to him before before seeing his grandmother step forwards and after a brief talk to the announcer liberated the microphone from him so she could speak "I'd like to congratulate my grandson for winning the tournament against worthy competitors and take this moment to official declare him as my heir to the [Bune Clan]."

"And if there is nothing else, we should be going." Rykeoss added as she looked to the Maou for any sign they wanted them to stay before handing the microphone back to the announcer as Kazuhiko spoke up "Come along, Gremory-san. Let's get you settled into your new life."

Rias gulped as she walked over to Kazuhiko, his grandmother and his peerage before a large magic circle appeared underneath them and whisked them away to their home.

...

When the magic circle faded, Kazuhiko let out a relieved sigh as they now stood in front of their home. He glanced to Rias to see she was still nervous before turning his focus onto his peerage as he spoke "You girls all did an amazing job during the tournament. Thanks you for that. Go take the rest of the day off and relax, we'll have to go back in school in a couple of days for the new year."

"I'll go put this in the living room and arrange that meeting." Rykeoss spoke proudly, taking the trophy from Diana as Kazuhiko nodded to her. The girls shot looks at Rias ranging from glares to distrusting looks as they headed inside, Rykeoss taking the giant cheque from her grandson and leaving Kazuhiko and Rias alone before the former spoke up "Come along then, Gremory-san. We'll need to talk about arrangements."

"Where are we?" Rias asked as she followed Kazuhiko into the traditional Japanese estate, the brunet showing his Kyuubi features once inside as he answered "I suppose it makes sense you don't recognise it, you were rather negligent in your governance of the town and it made it easier for my group to move under your nose."

"W-What? We're in Kuoh Town?" Rias spoke shocked, Kazuhiko nodding as he gave a hum that told her she was right. Rias gaped at hearing that, wondering how she couldn't have noticed them or how her brother hadn't found them out as she voiced her shock to him.

"I've lived here mostly for the last five years and attend Kuoh High School. Your brother never picked us up because this is on the edge of the town and its under impressive Yokai spells to protect and hide the demonic ones underneath." Kazuhiko answered, "Plus, you or Sitri-san didn't care much about the town outside of your academy and the areas you give out leaflets."

Rias realised that Kazuhiko was right as Sona focused mainly on being Student Council President for the school while she had been looking at the students for someone to help her be free of Riser until Sona's plan had came up.

They entered into an formal office, Kazuhiko moving to sit down behind the ornate wooden desk as she took the seat opposite him and asked "What's going to happen to me?"

"Well, I'm sure you realised earlier that the girls don't like you. Especially after hearing about what you did to me in the past by believing those lies." Kazuhiko started, Rias wincing and shrinking where she sat as he continued "There's no way you'll survive a day with us if you somehow convince me to keep you so I'm trading you off."

"What!? But the tournament...?" Rias spoke shocked, Kazuhiko holding his hand up to silence her as he continued "My peerage convinced me to enter to reveal the truth of what happened to me and what the tournament was about, not out of some sort of lingering affection for you. A part of me really wants to just trade you to Riser but I'm not that petty towards you and your brother for what you both did back then and that would just be ensuring Riser gets what he wants."

Rias slumped into the chair at hearing that, her mind whirling with what Kazuhiko was saying and realising that she wasn't safe with the team who had won her. Her heart had froze at hearing that Kazuhiko had contemplated trading her to Riser just to get revenge on her and Sirzechs for what happened when they were children.

"Lucifer made a stupid move with creating the tournament, you know." Kazuhiko spoke, getting Rias to look at him in confusion as he continued "Didn't you hear me at the start of the tournament. The tournament has given heiresses a very real issue to stop them renouncing their Clans lest they turn into what you were, a prize. But by doing so they enraged a whole set of heiresses by saying 'if you don't play by our rules then you'll lose any protection you have and become slaves to another heir/heiress'."

"W-Who are you trading me to?" Rias asked, her mind reeling from how Kazuhiko was explaining things to her. Kazuhiko scratched one of his ears as he answered "It's probably best you not know before the meeting has been made lest you get your hopes up."

Lucile stepped into the room wearing a crimson tank top that was slightly damp, along with her hair, and cotton shorts as she explained why she was here "I figured I should guide Gremory-san to her room for the night. Bune-sama has already sent an official meeting request but the response should come tomorrow."

"Thanks, Luci. I've got some work to catch up on so if you don't mind following her, Gremory-san." Kazuhiko spoke as he pulled out a short stack of papers from a draw to work on.

Rias turned her gaze to Lucile, her relative she now knew about although how they were related was unknown, watching the dusky beauty signal to her to follow as they both left the office. Lucile closed the door behind her before speaking "Please follow me."

"W-What's your tie to the Gremory Clan then, Lucile-san?" Rias asked nervously as she walked after Lucile, getting a raised eyebrow at the topic before answering "My father is Zeoticus Gremory."

"W-What? My father would never cheat on my mother." Rias shouted in outrage, Lucile turning to her with a raised eyebrow and countered her half-sister, "Is it so hard to believe? He already has a harem and you don't think he'd try and chase any woman who caught his interest. His greed had already saw you engaged for the sake of powerful children so would he care enough to protect himself from chance consequences of my mother getting pregnant with how low devil fertility is? She hid the fact she was from the [Ronove Clan] from him until it was verified she was pregnant and he cut things off at finding out the news."

"..." Rias tried to rebuke only to come up short as she wondered why her father would do that as she asked "So you never met Otou-sama?"

"Never... and I have no intention to meet with someone who refused his duties as a father even if I was illegitimate." Lucile answered, signalling to the room as she changed topics, "This will be your room for tonight. You can travel around the estate but don't venture into the other girls' rooms, some of them are territorial and may use it as an excuse. Dinner is at six."

Rias nodded as she slid the door open to her room, turning to look at Lucile to ask something only to see her walking away. Rias sighed sadly as she entered her room wondering what her new life would be like as got use to her new, temporary, room.

...

"How did Gremory take the fact she's being traded?" Diana asked as she stepped into the office, a envelope in her hands and garbed in a violet sweater dress as Kazuhiko sighed and answered "About as well as expected. I imagine she's sweating over who I could be trading her to and the fact her Tou-san cheated if she asked Lucile how she was linked to the Gremory Clan."

"I imagine that would be a shock. You didn't tell her it was Sitri?" Diana asked curiously, Kazuhiko shaking his head as he explained "Didn't want to get her hopes up with the vague message to arrange a meeting Baasan sent to them. Plus I want her to sweat a little about it."

"Well, I have the answer to that question." Diana spoke with an amused smirk as she handed over the envelope. Kazuhiko opened it and skimmed the letter as he added "Also think the clan deserves a little payback and if this meeting works then I've just undermined the whole point of the tournament as well if what I thought was planned was right."

"They accepted." Diana spoke with a knowing smile, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "I imagine that making the meeting place Kuoh Academy also spooked Sitri into accepting or make her think that Rias has a hand in this. After all, the knowledge that she and Rias governed this town was high security information only known to their Clans, the Elders and the Maou."

"There's a chance her family will show up." Diana pointed out, the doors opening to admit Daphne in a icy blue sundress as she answered "It'll just make the tournament even more pointless and spit on the Gremory Clan as the tournament was to stop Rias from getting off scot free from the engagement by renouncing her ties."

"That's about right. We did all make the plan for what would happen after depending on the tournament outcome." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, looking to Daphne with concern as he asked "Everything alright?"

"I've set up my [Ice Mice] to watch over Gremory for now." Daphne explained with a nod, Kazuhiko nodding his thanks before asking "How is everyone?"

"They are fine, taking the time to unwind after everything, some are talking to their mothers and I imagine those records will be sent out to them." Diana answered with a smile, Kazuhiko relaxing as he smiled "That's good. You two can go relax as well. I'm nearly done with this paperwork that's built up and I imagine your parents would want to hear about what happened as well."

...

Ajuka Beelzebub slumped into the armchair in the lounge of his parents manor, still reeling from the information he had gathered from his little brother. Diodora had been risking a restart of the Great War by targeting Holy Maidens and designing ways to get them excommunicated from the church so he could play the kindly man helping them.

'How did I miss my little brother acting like that...?' Ajuka thought as he nursed a glass of scotch, wondering if he had spent too much time working on his projects and Maou duties then with his family. Diodora had been imprisoned after he had been retired for what he had done and his peerage was seeking medical and mental aid to attempt to undo the damage done to them. The questioning had revealed the same dark side that he had shown during the talk between him and the illusion of Asia Argento that Kazuhiko had conjured, who he had found out was his latest target and he knew that Serafall was in talks to try and settle any tension that had arose due to Diodora's actions with the church and Heaven.

Now the clan had no heir although that could have be remedied by Samantha Armstrong, Kazuhiko's [Pawn]. His father had grudgingly admitted that he had slept with the girl's mother once it was pointed out that there was no heir to the Clan, resulting in Ajuka's mother refusing to allow her husband to use a spare bedroom and not to sleep with the man for a decade, relegating him to the coach.

...

Sona Sitri frowned as she sat in the Student Council room of Kuoh Academy, wondering if or how Rias had convinced her original fiancee (Kazuhiko) to meet with her so quickly. She glanced to the side where Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko were all standing, the latter three more noticeably commiserating at being unable to save their original [King]. Tsubaki had left to meet with the members of the Bune group that would be arriving for this meeting.

'How did Kazuhiko Bune meet with so many illegitimate children of the Pillar Clans?' Sona thought with a grimace as she recalled the argument that she had entered between her parents at arriving home after the tournament. Her father had ashamedly admitted to sleeping with a descendant of the legendary samurai: Kojirō Sasaki and that he had broken things off the moment she had been pregnant. Now that daughter was a [Knight] for Kazuhiko and had seemingly blended the Sitri [Hydrokinesis] with her mother's swordsmanship and a bunch of techniques that Kazuhiko had obviously directed her to if Akeno, Momo and Saji's comments about anime while watching the playback of the tournament were right.

'I imagine that they would have been a perfect couple if Riser didn't ruin everything.' The Sitri heiress thought absently, realising that Kazuhiko had directed his peerage towards different anime characters who used similar powers to their skills and as Rias was a Japanophile they both had an interest in Japan and some level of childishness at times.

"Kaichou." Tsubaki spoke up, drawing Sona's attention as she entered with the group that she had been requested to meet with. The group consisted of Kazuhiko, Diana, Daphne, Rias and Rykeoss. Sona saw Rias' face brighten as their eyes locked and returned a small smile to the redhead as the group came to a stop in front of her.

"Please take a seat, Kazuhiko-san." Sona spoke, signalling to the sofa opposite her. Kazuhiko, Rykeoss and Rias sat down at her words while Daphne and Diana took up position behind the sofa.

"So, what is this meeting about?" Sona asked, Kazuhiko taking a moment to look around the office before he answered "I've come to trade Rias Gremory to you."

"What?" Sona asked shocked, echoing the looks of surprise from Rias' former servants as Kazuhiko continued "There's no reason for me to keep her and after what she did when we were younger, none of my peerage are going to trust her."

"What do you want in return for Rias?" Sona asked curiously, wondering if Kazuhiko or his peerage had hammered home the effect that Rias' actions had on him due to how the redhead averted the gaze. Kazuhiko about to answer only for a crimson magic circle appeared in the room which Zeoticus, Venelana, Sirzechs and Grayfia stepped out of.

"What brings you here all here?" Rykeoss asked with a frown, Sirzechs offering a smile as he replied "We wanted to see how Rias was settling in."

"Oh?" Kazuhiko asked with a raised eyebrow and a flat look at the quartet before turning back to Sona to answer her question "Nothing. I just want rid of her."

"What!?" Zeoticus roared outraged, Rykeoss chuckling as Sirzechs asked confused "Why did you enter the tournament then?"

"I entered to bring to light what you, Lucifer-sama, she, and Riser did to me. I always had the intention to give her to Sona if I won." Kazuhiko answered, much to the shock of Zeoticus, who had thought he would get the original engagement out of it and the potential strong children. Sirzechs averted his gaze in shame at the reminder of what he had done back then as the brunet continued "It's unsafe for her to stay in my peerage given they know what she did to me when we were children and they are fairly angry at her over it."

Grayfia and Venelana looking deeply saddened but understood at hearing that while Zeoticus gritted his teeth in anger as he spoke "You know your victory means you won the co-governance of Kuoh Town as well and having Rias to hand would give you help with the work associated with it."

"I've been living in this town since I escaped to the human world, Gremory-dono. Bune-sama has been having me do mock paperwork for this town since I started attending Kuoh High School to ensure I know how to manage a territory for when I eventually take over as head of the [Bune Clan]. Whoever you had scout out this town didn't do that good a job." Kazuhiko countered, standing up along with his grandmother while the two young women behind the sofa shared amused looks at the Gremory Lord looking speechless at their [King].

"If you have nothing else to bring up in this feeble attempt to keep my grandson and your daughter together, we'll take our leave." Rykeoss spoke up, leading her grandson and two of his pieces to the door as she added over her shoulder "Oh, and don't worry. He didn't use an [Evil Piece] on her as it wasn't worth the effort to even temporarily bring her into his peerage."

Any retort died on the Gremory Clan's lips at hearing that as the group left, Sona sighing in disappointment as she had wanted to rid herself of this debt that she had to Kazuhiko due to just giving Rias to her. The Sitri heiress also wanted to know how Kazuhiko and his group had evaded being spotted while attending another school in the town and barely restrained giving Rias' family a cold look.

"Rias, are you alright?" Akeno asked, moving to check on her best friend and former [King]. Rias smiled sadly in response as she nodded, "Yes, Akeno. Just wondering if things would have been better if I hadn't listened to Riser in the first place."

...

Kazuhiko sighed as they returned home, finally fully relaxed at not having Rias around, looking surprised as his grandmother spoke up "I imagine you'll have to deal with a school change soon."

"What do you mean?" Kazuhiko asked, Daphne humming thoughtfully as Rykeoss explained "Zeoticus is rather pissed that there's no chance of strong children through Rias from you and along with whoever the last member of Rias' peerage had been means that he is going to think it better you are at the Academy so you can interact with the other devils in town easier to ensure you're not a threat. He'll probably convince Sirzechs and Serafall somehow to agree with it as well, using such an argument."

"Did they not send us a file about this member, like they should have done when we won?" Kazuhiko asked with a frown before Diana spoke up "I imagine that they expected Rias to disclose about them to you but seeing as they wasn't at the tournament they were probably sealed away due to being uncontrollable."

"That sounds about right to me." Daphne added with a nod, "If Rias couldn't control them then why would they unseal them if they could cause trouble to the VIPs during the tournament."

"Oh well, we'll have to ask for a file from the Gremory or ask Rias herself at some point." Kazuhiko replied with a sigh. Rykeoss shooed off the two young women who shared happy smiles as they walked off before she spoke "What do you intend to do with the prize money?"

"Oh, that's easy. I want to split it up equally amongst myself and the girls and put it in a bank for them." Kazuhiko answered, Rykeoss smiling pleased at hearing that as she replied "That's good. You'd better get ready for the party that Yasaka-san is holding for you and the girls then."

"Yasaka-san's holding a party for us, Baasan?" Kazuhiko asked surprised, Rykeoss nodding in response, "Of course, you all do need to celebrate the victory of the tournament. Several of the higher ups of the Shinto and Yokai Factions watched it all."

"R-Really!?" Kazuhiko asked shocked as his grandmother lead him inside so he could get his formal outfit to wear.

...

Yasaka smiled as she looked around the large hall that was part of her personal manor, enjoying seeing the Yokai Elders and several children from the various clans as well as her personal staff and Kunou were all celebrating Kazuhiko's win. The part Kyuubi had met with several of the Clan leaders during his training with her in learning the basics of [Senjutsu] between her work as leader of the Kyoto Yokai and maintaining the ley-lines of Kyoto.

"Looks like they are eager to see their hero appear." Amaterasu demurely chimed in as she brought Yasaka's gaze onto several of the female Yokai who were looking around expectantly for Kazuhiko. Yasaka had been surprised that Susanoo and Tsukuyomi had attended as well as both had less interaction with Kazuhiko and often did their own things leaving Amaterasu to act as the leader of the Shinto Faction.

"I'm surprised how many enjoyed watching the tournament, most of them laughed at the idea of using anime and manga as part of their fighting styles as some sort of Chuunibyou-esk plan and now they praise him for defeating the devils." Yasaka replied as she looked over the girls with a sly smirk, "I doubt they would get past his peerage to try and seduce him now that he's proved himself right."

"I doubt Diana will have forgotten any of those who laughed at him since she lived with us." Tatsumi chortled with his wife next to him smirking in agreement as Amaterasu turned to them and pondered aloud "I'm surprised the Devils haven't sought to seek out answers from him or get close."

"I haven't bothered Kazu with any requests for interviews yet or the requests from the other Clans about the girls accepting formal recognition and just trying to take advantage of that to form ties with the Clan." Rykeoss explained with a frown. Yasaka and Amaterasu nodded in understanding, aware of the woman's disdain for politics and especially trying to take advantage of the situation that her grandson's reveal had made.

The doors at the end slid open to reveal Kazuhiko leading his group into the room all dressed formally in kimonos for the girls while the lone male had black haori and hakama with a dark blue kimono top and orange obi. Kazuhiko also had his Kyuubi features on full display, his ears twitching at how the sound had died down with their appearance before clapping started and offering praise to Kazuhiko.

"Thank you for the warm welcome." Kazuhiko started as the clapping died down, clasping his hands in front of himself as he continued talking "But the girls deserve your praises more then myself as without them I'd have not been able to succeed in the tournament. Now, let's enjoy the party that Yasaka-sama arranged."

The Elder Yokai nodded their heads approvingly at hearing Kazuhiko talk about his peerage being more deserving and also for not referring to them as servants of any kind. They also was pleased that something went wrong for the devils in charge especially after the attack on Nekoshous after what was dubbed the 'Kuroka incident'.

Kazuhiko's peerage smiled warmly to him as they all moved further into the hall, Kazuhiko finding himself getting cornered by Susanoo who heartily slapped him on the back, nearly knocking the brunet off his feet due to his strength.

Susanoo was a tall, muscular man with black hair styled into a top knot and had a trimmed beard with stormy grey eyes and a large grin. He was dressed in a kimono top that had stormy clouds depicted over it and stormy grey hakama pants with tabi socks and wooden sandals.

"Your group's battles were very impressive, young one. I can see why my sister is so intrigued with you." Susanoo spoke boisterously as Kazuhiko flushed embarrassed as he replied "T-Thank you, Susanoo-dono."

"Come, come. Let's have a drink and talk about what inspired you to copy the humans' ideas for your own use." Susanoo continued out, not seeming to take much notice of Kazuhiko's response as he lead the brunet towards a low table in the corner before Amaterasu approached them and spoke with a gentle warmth "Now brother, there's no need to hog the young man."

"Don't worry sister. I just want to talk with him." Susanoo chided his sister, guiding Kazuhiko away much to the goddess' exasperation.

...

"Fufufu, looks like Kazu-sama has attracted the attention of Susanoo-dono." Nagi spoke with a demure giggle to Lucile and Daphne, drawing the pair's attention to where they [King] was being manhandled towards a table in the corner of the room.

"At least he hasn't got to deal with the Elders now." Lucile commented as she sipped at her drink, "They were never very supportive of when we would visit for training."

"It's understandable seeing as the 'Kuroka Incident' is still fresh in most of their minds. It's probably why Kazu didn't recruit any Yokai at all otherwise they might try and twist things to make us the bad guys." Daphne spoke up, getting a frown from her two friends which spoke of them agreeing with her.

"It's also not helped that most of those we have met with weren't very open minded about Kazu-sama's ideas." Nagi added as she looked around, spotting several groups of female Yokai looking interested in their [King].

"Hiromi is probably the only exception due to being a Mizuchi herself and that being more dragon then Yokai." Lucile commented, looking over to the bluenette who was talking with Rhiannon and Martina while they kept their eyes on Kazuhiko and any admirers that may approach.

"Hiromi's so prideful that I doubt the Yokai Elders would've been able to stop her pursuing Kazu if they tried." Daphne retorted with a chuckle which her two friends joined in.

...

"You did really well during the tournament." Diana spoke with a small smile that Samantha returned as she replied "Thank you, Diana. It's nice to see our training really paying off given that most of the Stray Devils we dealt with before were easy."

"I agree with ya. The tournament provided a good challenge for us though I was shocked your cousin was so strong." Jessica agreed with a nod and grin to Diana, who chuckled as she added "Yes, I was surprised myself. I figured he had to make up for not having the [Power of Destruction] somehow given his small reserves of magic but to unlock [Touki] is rather hard to believe."

"True. He had to push his body beyond its limits and its extremely rare for anyone without [Senjutsu] to unlock it from what i recall Yasaka-san told Kaz." Jessica added with a sagely nod, Samantha looking amazed at hearing that as she spoke "That just makes him more impressive."

"Oh? If I didn't know better I'd assume ya had a crush on the bloke." Jessica spoke with a teasing grin, Samantha shaking her head vigorously as she replied "I'd never give up Kazu-sama."

"She's just teasing you, Sam." Diana spoke calmly, "We all are in agreement about our [King]."

...

"I can't believe them..." Hiromi spoke with a disgusted snort, her eyes focused on a group of female Yokai who seemed to be interested in watching Kazuhiko, "Just eyeing Kazu like a piece of meat."

"I agree with you, Princess" Rhiannon retorted, glancing around the room before continuing "But it doesn't mean you can do anything as long as its only looking."

"I imagine they are just kicking themselves for disregarding Kazu-kun before." Martina commented with a smirk, sipping her drink as both girls nodded in agreement before focusing on their food but not before Hiromi muttered "Serves them right."

"Come on you two, cheer up and enjoy the party. You'll soon be back at school." Martina spoke as she signalled to where some of the other girls of the peerage were starting some sort of party game while Kazuhiko had just about got away from the storm god who was drinking heartily with some of the Yokai Elders.

...

Amaterasu smiled warmly as she watched Kazuhiko and his peerage join in with the festivities with the children of Yasaka's staff and Kunou. She knew Susanoo had to have picked up why she was interested in the Devil/Kyuubi hybrid just from being near but it didn't seem enough to affect the brunet. She had been surprised the first time it had happened while watching Kazuhiko spar with one of the Kitsune guards and showing off a technique he called [Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised] which allowed him to harmonise with nearby magic and absorb it to replenish his own reserves. During the demonstration, a small bit of her own divine power was pulled in without Kazuhiko's knowledge and absorbed.

'It seems that small bit of divine power hasn't changed, grown or appears to be affecting him adversely.' The Sun Goddess thought as she felt out his power. It was a rather intriguing mystery for her and something she had only shared with Yasaka, Tatsumi and Rykeoss just in case things went bad for Kazuhiko. She had felt it react momentarily when the brunet had entered his [Ultimate Instincts] form but did little else and she doubted anyone else had picked up on it either.

"He is an interesting young man, isn't he?" Tsukuyomi spoke in a soft voice. He was a tall, lean man dressed in a dark blue kimono that had stars and moons decorating it and had a silver obi around his waist. His black hair was short and slicked back while his silver eyes gleamed mysteriously as he gently puffed on a wooden pipe.

"I knew you'd sensed it along with Susanoo..." Amaterasu replied with a silent sigh, Tsukuyomi nodding slowly as he added "I'm surprised the brash idiot didn't blurt it out already but I suppose even he knows to keep quiet on something this highly unusual."

Amaterasu mentally agreed with her former husband, turning to see Susanoo playing some sort of drinking game with the Yokai Elders. She turned back the moment Tsukuyomi mused aloud, "You didn't accidentally give him an incomplete blessing, did you?"

"Do you think I wouldn't have realised I had done that in the first place? Such a thing would be so irresponsible given that it could endanger him if it adversely affects his mostly Devil nature?" Amaterasu quietly snapped back with a glare, Tsukuyomi holding his free hand up in surrender as he replied "It was just a thought..."

"Anyway..." Amaterasu added more calmly, "He was demonstrating a technique that absorbs magical energy to restore his own reserves at the time and it pulled a little of my own in due to being too close, probably. Although I wasn't expressing any of my power anyway at the time though."

"Most peculiar then." Tsyukuyomi hummed, putting his pipe in his mouth as he watched Kazuhiko use his [Mist Flames] to create fantastic animals to amuse and amaze the younger children or give them unusual wings that he was in full control of so they could fly about on.

...

Rias sighed as she lay down in her bed in her apartment she used while attending school, partly relaxed at the familiar surroundings as one of her hands absently moving to rub the point between her breasts where Sona had put her last three [Pawns] into her to finalise the fact she was now a member of Sona's peerage. She shook her head to rid herself of the absent thought that Kazuhiko would probably have only needed to use one [Pawn] to bind her to his peerage.

'Father was really angry at being dismissed by Kazuhiko... that and I didn't find out much about him and his group that he didn't reveal freely during the tournament.' Rias thought with a frown, wondering if her father or brother was going to act to keep an eye on Kazuhiko somehow given the sudden and shocking manner of his return and the fact his peerage was mostly made up for illegitimate children of Pillar Clans.

Rias' eyes widened suddenly as she sat up and gasped "Oh my Maou, Gasper..."

The sheet pooled around her waist, revealing that she was nude as she held her hand up to create a crimson communication circle above her palm and waited for it to connect. A couple minutes passed before it connected, revealing Sona was affixing her glasses as she sleepily looked at Rias and asked [What's wrong, Rias?]

"I completely forgot about informing Kazuhiko about Gasper. He's going to be so shocked at the change in [King] if he's not watched the tournament and Kazuhiko already has both of his [Bishops] filled." Rias spoke up sadly as she thought about her former [Mutated Bishop].

Sona blinked as she took a moment to process before she replied [I'm sure he can manage if we explain it to them both and maybe Kazuhiko's strength is what is needed to truly help Gasper overcome his fear.]

"I suppose your right." Rias spoke sullenly, Sona silently sighing as she asked [That wasn't just it, Rias, was it?]

"Well..." Rias started conflicted, "Do you think that things would have been different if I didn't believe Riser's words? Would I have been happy with Kazuhiko as my husband?"

[Its not good to dwell on the past, Rias. You can't change it now and all we can do is strive for the future we want.] Sona replied sagely, Rias nodding as the ravenette continued [And at the moment, for you, its to work on re-attaining High Class status so your peerage can be reformed.]

"I need to get stronger as well." Rias added with a resolute nod, Sona nodding in response before they bid each other a goodnight and ended the call. Rias turning to cuddle Koneko who had been scared at the fact Kazuhiko had used [Senjutsu] during the tournament.

...

Kazuhiko woke with a yawn the next morning in his futon, smiling as he remembered the fun he had entertaining the younger children at the party with his [Mist Flame] illusions once Susanoo had sufficiently got the attention of the older male Yokai. Kunou and the others had rather enjoyed flying around on their own sets of wings much to the exasperation of their mothers although Diana and the others were on hand to help if he lost control, which hadn't happened.

Nuzzling his face deeper into the warm pillows, Kazuhiko's fox ears twitching as he heard the familiar throaty chuckle before slender arms wrapped tightened around him before he could jolt up in realisation as he blurted "Martina!?"

His words were muffled by her breasts as Martina pouted childishly as she asked "Are you not happy to see me, Kazu-kun? I only had a little too much sake and wanted a cuddle from my handsome [King]."

"O-Of course not." Kazuhiko replied, trying to not stare at her bare breasts in front of him as his bushy tails wrapped around Martina to protect her modesty, making her smile at how he could still be so shy and how his fox tails were so soft against her skin as she spoke "You know you can look, Kazu-kun. It's not anything you haven't seen after you saved me from those Ogres when we first met."

Kazuhiko nodded absently as he frowned at recalling how he had met Martina. His group at the time: Diana, Daphne, Nagi, Hiromi and Jessica had been raiding a den of Ogres who had taken to kidnapping girls to use as broodmares. They had destroyed all the Ogres and saved Martina and the other girls there before taking in the former to help her get back onto her feet and heal. Martina had sorted everything out with Rykeoss' help before she decided to join the group as she had finished her teaching degree about a month before her capture and since then she had taught at Kuoh High School as an English teacher despite originally being from Italy and her mother being a nun.

"You know it might be fun to have an illicit affair with my student..." Martina spoke in a flirty tone, Kazuhiko's cheeks reddening as he retorted "The guys already think I'm a bit odd for only have female friends, some even joke I've got a harem so I don't think it would be good for them to notice you treating me more special then you normally do in class."

"It'll be fine. I imagine if we have to transfer over to the Academy, the guys won't think any better of you due to how the ratio to guys to girls is there." Martina spoke, waving off his concerns before she kissed him on the cheek and making him blush as he spoke "Pr-probably but we should get up before the others come."

"Oh, it'll be fine." Martina replied carefree, enjoying the confused look on Kazuhiko's face as she continued "We all decided that we should start sharing your bed, one at a time of course, but we wanted to get closer to you and remove the damage that girl did to you before. I kind of jumped the gun by sneaking in last night."

"Okay..." Kazuhiko spoke with a soft smile at Martina's sheepish look, realising that the girls only wanted to help him as he moved to get up for the day.

...

"What's all this about?" Kazuhiko asked his grandmother and [Queen] as he looked at the new piles of papers covering his desk, the former answering with an exasperated sigh "These are the requests for interviews by the Underworld media and the other clans wanting to meet and to establish ties with the girls. There's also fan mail for yourself and the girls and offers for work for them."

"Really? So now that they have shown themselves useful their Clans want them back." Kazuhiko spoke with a angry growl as he lifted a thin file that bore the Gremory insignia on it.

"At least they supplied the information on the last person of Rias' peerage who we got." Kazuhiko muttered as he looked it over as he continued "Gasper Vladi, Dhampir, [Mutated Bishop], [Forbidden Balor View], ooh~ time stopping powers... Uh, typical."

"What is it?" Diana asked concerned, looking up from the sheet of paper she was helping organise as Kazuhiko answered "They won't let him be unsealed, something about us not having proven ourselves strong enough to resist his power and won't let us meet with him until they are sure we can."

"How are we supposed to talk with him and try and help him when they won't let us meet him? Plus we defeated Sairaorg, how can they say we're not strong enough." Diana asked confused, Rykeoss frowning as she answered "It's probably just retaliation for not keeping Rias in the peerage and revealing the truth of what happened back then as its supposed to be up to the Elder Devils to decide such a thing. Plus they probably used the fact Kazu-kun had to go [Ultimate Instincts] to even turn the tide as a sign his base power isn't enough."

"Diana, can you talk to the others about if they want me to accept these requests to meet them or these job requests?" Kazuhiko asked curiously, Diana nodding as she moved to leave before the brunet added "Oh, also can you send Luci and Daphne here once they come back from their shopping trip with Sam as I'm gonna need their help with a statement or something for the media given how many requests are here for interviews."

"I wouldn't think you would have trouble after the speech you gave at the start of the Tournament and at Yasaka-sama's party but I'll tell them you want them to look over it when they come back." Diana spoke with a soft smile as she turned her attention back to the pile of papers to be sorted.

"What else is there, Baasan?" Kazuhiko asked as he looked over the papers while sorting them into relevant piles.

"Well, there's the marriage contracts?" Rykeoss spoke with dry amusement as Kazuhiko stared at her in disbelief, "It was bound to happen, Kazu-kun, especially after your victory in the tournament and proving your power."

"Urk..." Kazuhiko groaned as he put his head on the desk, Rykeoss putting a comforting hand on his head as she reassured him, "Only I can accept a marriage contract now for you, Kazu-kun, and I have no intention of doing that to you after what the last one was like."

"Thanks Baasan." Kazuhiko replied with a hum as his grandmother scratched at his vulpine ears before she spoke up "Now, make a start on that statement for the media as I doubt you or the girls would want to do one mass interview and be asked all sorts of questions."

"Hai." Kazuhiko spoke with a sigh as he grabbed some paper and a pencil to start writing something as he asked "Can we invite Ravel-chan over? I'm sure she's eager to catch up after all the shocks."

"I'll see what I can arrange." Rykeoss answered as she continued to help him organize things while working out a statement.

...

Ravel looked around curiously at the traditional Japanese estate as she and her mother walked behind one of the staff of the place. They had been given the coordinates to arrive there by Rykeoss in secret to over the Lord Phenex from forcing his way in and no doubt getting beaten by the several dragons of Kazuhiko's peerage.

"Kazu-niisama!" Ravel called as she spotted Kazuhiko sitting under a sakura tree in the garden, not caring for her pink princess dress as she glomped onto the brunet who offered a smile as he replied "Ravel-chan! It's good to see you and I'm sorry for having to fake my death back then."

"No. It's fine." Ravel spoke as she shook her head as they stood, "Riser-niisan wouldn't have left you alone if you had stuck around and you'd be stuck with that vile Rias. Where is she now?"

"Oh, I gave her to Sona Sitri." Kazuhiko answered with a shrug, "None of the girls nor I wanted her staying here and like I said during the tournament I was only there to reveal the truth."

"Good." Ravel spoke seriously with a nod as Lady Rochelle Phenex approached with a warm smile as she greeted "It's great to see you're okay, Kazu."

"Thanks, Okaa-sama." Kazuhiko replied, hugging his step-mother who had treated him like he was one of her own despite her husband's actions. Rochelle returned it with a smile as Ravel joined in as she spoke"I was very impressed to see how you and your peerage won the tournament."

Rykeoss approached with a warm smile as she spoke "Why don't you introduce Ravel to the girls that are still here, Kazu-kun, while I talk to Rochelle-san?"

"Alright, Baasan." Kazuhiko replied with a nod, Ravel getting a nod from her mother before the pair headed inside to meet with the girls and leaving the two women outside.

"Let's have some tea and talk." Rykeoss spoke with a smile, Rochelle smiling in response as she replied "That would be lovely. I'd love to hear how Kazu has been since he left."

As the pair walked towards the kitchen, Rykeoss decided to start speaking, "Thank you, Rochelle-san. Kazu-kun has told me a lot of good things about how you cared for him when your husband didn't and even spurred him on to continue his personal training."

"It was the least I could do for Yuni, Lady Bune." Rochelle replied, "She became my best friend after she made that consort contract with Reginald and always sought to ensure I was happy with the arrangement. It was only for her to have a child but we talked about arranging play dates once I found out I was pregnant with Ravel. When she died I was distraught and helping to raise Kazu into a fine man was the best way I could see to honour her."

Rykeoss' smile grew as she heard the kind things Rochelle had to say, moving to prepare the tea as their guest sat at the kitchen table as she started to speak herself, "My daughter was always a driven woman. She thought it wrong that our Clan was classed as extinct because I chose a Kyuubi as my husband but didn't like the arrogance most men of the Underworld have. She told me that she chose your husband because she wanted her child to be able to weather the storm that would lead to the Bune being revived."

Rykeoss turned to face Rochelle as she finished gathering what she needed, setting it down on the table as she continued "When Yuni died... I tried to get to meet with Kazu-kun but your husband refused at every attempt. I met with him in person once and saw a smug greed in his eyes then at the thought of having a 'Immortal Dragon Tamer' in his hands."

"I tried to talk him into letting you meet Kazu but he believed that only a [Phenex] could instil the proper regal nature of being an 'immortal' devil." Rochelle spoke with disgust, her two older children had grown out of the phase but Riser had gobbled all her husband's words and Ravel had seen how Kazuhiko had been treated for not inheriting it.

"When he found out that Kazu didn't inherit that power, he made the contract with the Gremory as a means to get rid of him from the Clan and then when Riser started his campaign to claim Rias for himself, that man saw it as something amusing," Rochelle continued, Rykeoss setting down two cups of tea as she replied "You tried your best, Rochelle. The most damage to Kazu-kun is a concern for being seen as doing anything that could be deemed perverted when dealing with the girls of his peerage and they seem to have taken it upon themselves to start slowly show him that it's something they want from him and its fine for him to make the first move. It started with convincing him to let them join his peerage."

"That's good." Rochelle spoke with a soft smile, sipping at her tea for a moment, "I worried he would shut himself off from romance at times back then."

...

Kazuhiko and Ravel entered into the living room to see Rhiannon and Hiromi playing [Mario Kart] on the Switch, prodding and elbowing each other much to Jessica's amusement as she watched them. Diana and Nagi was sitting off at a table playing Chess although Kazuhiko wasn't sure which one was winning as they looked evenly matched.

"Where's Martina-san?" Kazuhiko asked curiously, Jessica glancing over as she answered "The school called her in, Kazu. She said something about a possible exchange."

"Oh, okay." Kazuhiko spoke with an understanding nod, looking to Ravel to see her interested as he introduced her "Girls, this is my Imouto, Ravel Phenex. Ravel, this is my peerage, well those that are here at the moment. I suppose you remember their names from the tournament."

"Of course." Ravel spoke with stern look to her brother before turning to the girls and bowing as she addressed them "Thank you for looking after my Onii-sama."

"It's fine, Ravel-san." Nagi started, turning to face the blonde as she continued "Kazu-sama helped us all a lot and we all wanted to repay him for it."

"He just doesn't let us do it the way we want to." Jessica retorted with a smirk that made Kazuhiko and Ravel blush at the innuendo in her tone.

"Don't mind her." Diana spoke with a chuckle, "None of us would choose to not be part of his peerage. We did, after all, have to convince him that it was our choice as he never asked any of us."

The other girls nodded in agreement much to Kazuhiko's embarrassment, Rhiannon and Hiromi finally ending their race as the former spoke "I had to pin him down and threaten to not let him leave if he didn't let me join."

"R-really?" Ravel spoke surprised as she looked at the ginger half dragon who nodded as Hiromi retorted "At least I only needed to show off my feminine charm to win him over."

"Oi! I've got charm, you water snake." Rhiannon shot back angrily, Hiromi raising an eyebrow as she countered "About as much as desert, salamander."

"You two." Kazuhiko spoke in a warning tone, making them both turn away from each other with a huff. Ravel let out a light giggle at the pair's reactions as she spoke "You do have quite the group of characters, Onii-sama."

"Just you wait till the others get back." Jessica spoke with a grin, plucking the controllers from Hiromi and Rhiannon as she suggested "Wanna have a try, Ravel-san?"

"Oh, alright then." Ravel spoke with a smile as she moved to accept one and the group settled into have some fun with Kazuhiko moving to sit down soon after and join in.

...

Lucile, Daphne and Samantha settled onto a bench with a few light bags from their shopping trip for some sexy underwear for the greenette, the more heavy bags stored in their own dimensional pockets. Lucile was dressed in a cream sweater with a long red skirt and brown boots giving her a casual elegance. Daphne had donned a silver sundress with black tights, plimsoll shoes and a icy blue cardigan left open on top. Samantha had chosen a loose t-shirt that showed off the black tank top underneath, a pair of blue jeans and comfortable trainers.

"Well, I think we have enough for you to entice Kazu-kun now, Sam." Lucile spoke to their red faced junior who asked "D-Did we have to get that... pair... they were little more then s-string..."

"Oh, don't worry Sam. The moment he sees you in them he won't be able to stop staring at you." Daphne spoke reassuringly to the greenette who turned a darker red as she looked away

"Is that?" Samantha asked, signalling to the others at the blonde nun that was wandering around in confusion while pulling a suitcase.

"Yeah that is. Isn't she early?" Lucile asked, Daphne nodding as she answered "At least two days if I remember correctly."

The trio collected their bags and approached the blonde, Lucile the first to speak up as they approached "Asia Argento?"

"Ah. Yes, that's me." Asia spoke with a innocent smile as she asked "Are you the one Mr. Dohnaseek said would take me to the church?"

"No, Asia-san. We are those that Sister Lorenzo told you would pick up?" Daphne reminded, Asia looking surprised as she asked "I was told that the plan had changed due to complications and that Sister Lorenzo's daughter wasn't going to take me in."

"We've not heard anything like that, Asia-san. We've been looking forwards to you moving in with us." Lucile spoke concerned, Daphne and Samantha looking around for any signs of anyone else being there.

"Oh..." Asia spoke confused, flustering embarrassed as she bowed to them, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's not your fault you were lied to. Come on, we can show you to where you'll be staying and you can tell us who told you about the change of plans." Lucile spoke reassuringly, putting a hand around the blonde's shoulders as they moved to leave the area before anyone else came looking for Asia.

...

Author's Note

I wasn't sure about including Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi's talk during the party as it part explains the former's interest but also drops in something that isn't really important till much later. There's a few reactions from those connected to Kazu's girls and at the moment I haven't really decided Diodora's fate beyond possibly throwing him to the Angels to execute or something. There's some more about Kazu's past in here and also Zeoticus is making plans to try and maximise his chances for strong grandchildren.

Anyway hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter and a few explanations and surprises within that hopefully makes sense. As for Boosted Gear... well, it has a different host in this story who will probably appear in the next chapter or so given the changes. This chapter is a bit shorter then the others but that's more due to deciding this was a good point to stop things.

...

Rias, Akeno, Sona and Tsubaki all stood in the Occult Research Club room as they waited for Kazuhiko to arrive at the arranged time as they decided what would happen about the club given that most of Rias' peerage was now part of Sona's.

"Ideally, I would have you join the Student Council but it would cause a rather big shock to the students when they come back to such a change." Sona stated as they sat on the sofas in the room as Akeno suggested "We could always alter their memories or engineer a situation to cause the merger."

"Changing their memories would work but its a lot of effort that isn't needed. Plus this way we can keep an eye on Gasper when Kazuhiko-san is visiting with him at times." Sona explained, Tsubaki nodding in agreement to her [King] as she added "The fact Bune-san's group all occupy another school in town means they won't be around very often unless something suddenly changes."

"I think Otou-sama is looking to change that given how he reacted to what happened..." Rias spoke with conflicted look, Sona nodding in thought as she added "The information from the staff I've been getting mentioned whispers of a student exchange program between here and Kuoh High School including a teacher so I imagine that's what he's planning to do under the guise of protection by having us all gathered together."

"I wish he would leave it alone..." Rias spoke with an exasperated sigh, "There's no chance of Kazuhiko accepting me after what happened when we were young and I can see Onii-sama and Serafall-sama agreeing with the idea if it was to protect us all."

"I suppose another reason could be due to Bune-san's group being relative unknowns." Tsubaki added thoughtfully, drawing curious looks as she explained "We know some about them but most of it is conjecture based on how they fought and Lucifer-sama could want us to gather information but they would have told us if that was the case."

"That's true." Rias agreed with a nod.

"I think we should start training some more as well. We didn't really stand much chance against that assault they released against us after the attempt of a surprise attack." Akeno suggested, Sona wincing at remembering what had happened before nodding "You're right, Akeno."

...

"I'm home." Martina called as she returned to her home after the meeting with the Headmaster of Kuoh High about the project that was being started between the school and Kuoh Academy. She slipped off the pair of high heels and stepped inside as Kazuhiko came out to greet her "Hey Martina-san. What happened?"

"Let's wait till everyone is together and then I'll explain." Martina suggested, opening the blazer she was wearing as Kazuhiko replied "Alright then. We'll have to wait for Luci, Daphne and Sam to return from their shopping trip. Unless its important?"

"I'd say it was." Martina replied with a nod, Kazuhiko returning it as he pulled his phone out only for Lucile to speak up as she entered "No need to call us, Kazu. We also have some interesting news to share."

Kazuhiko and Martina turned to see Lucile, Daphne and Samantha with Asia, the brunet looking surprised as he asked "Asia Argento-san?"

"Y-Yes..." Asia spoke nervously, her eyes flickering up to Kazuhiko's fox ears as Kazuhiko looked embarrassed at his outburst as he introduced himself "Ah, I'm Kazuhiko Bune. it's nice to meet you, Asia-san, but I'm surprised you arrived here early."

"It's nice to meet you as well." Asia spoke with a smile and a bow, "Thank you for taking me in."

"Ah, its fine. I'm always happy to help those that need it, especially those in need of somewhere to stay and family." Kazuhiko explained, not noticing the smiles of the other girls at the pair as he added "While here you won't have to worry about me trying to recruit you due to your powers."

"Daphne-san explained about that and you being a kind devil, Kazuhiko-san." Asia spoke with a smile, Kazuhiko looking to Daphne who smirked back as she spoke up "I'll help her settle into an empty can fill me in on any details later."

"Alright Daph." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod. Daphne lead Asia off with her suitcase to settle her into a room.

The others moved into the living room where the rest of the peerage and Ravel was as Kazuhiko spoke "Lucile and Martina have important information for us."

Everyone settled down into their seats, Ravel looking interested as Martina started "Bune-sama was right, Lord Gremory have made his move and somehow arranged a student exchange program between Kuoh High and Kuoh Academy. I'll be the teacher in charge of Kuoh High's side of it and the list of students include the rest of our group and also includes Samantha who would only be starting her first year then."

"Are they expecting us to wear those pervert outfits they call uniforms? They can't expect to get us ones that fit in such a short time." Hiromi asked with a hint of disgust, Diana nodding in agreement with a frown as she needed a tailored blouse to just wear their normal school uniform as expected.

"They say that the first term you'll be in normal uniforms but after they'll have arranged fitted uniforms for you to use. I assume they use the check ups done to get the information they need as no mention of fitting or tailoring time was mentioned." Martina answered, easing the worry of the group as Kazuhiko pointed out "We'll have to be careful of the spies while there and judge how Sona Sitri's peerage reacts to us before deciding on anything. Is there anything else, Martina-san?"

"No, that's about it." Martina answered as she let her hair loose from the bun it was in and dispelled the illusion over her ears as she relaxed in her seat.

"Well, I should move onto my information." Lucile spoke up, taking a moment to formulate how to explain it before she started "Asia Argento arrived in Kuoh today after being told by a Fallen Angel called Dohnaseek that plans had been changed. What else I could gleam from her is that she was supposed to meet someone here to be taken to the local church."

"The one that's abandoned after the attack on Cleria Belial?" Nagi asked surprised, Ravel looking surprised at the mention of as Lucile nodded "The very same."

"Cleria Belial died at the hands of an exorcist who she tried to seduce, didn't she?" Ravel asked Kazuhiko who shook his head as he explained "She and Masaomi, the exorcist, were in love and discovered by both the Church and Devils in this town. Jiisan and Baasan helped with faking their deaths by using illusion [Youjutsu] and they live in Kyoto now."

"Masaomi-sensei was the one who helped me improve my swordsmanship after training with my Okaa-san." Nagi spoke up with a respectful tone, "He runs a Kendo hall and teaches both humans and Yokai to defend themselves."

"You can't tell anyone about them surviving, Ravel-chan." Kazuhiko spoke seriously, Ravel nodding as she replied "I won't tell anyone, Kazu-niisan."

"Anyway... I wouldn't be surprised if this group had been hired by Diodora-teme before the tournament happened and sneaked in when the tournament was happening." Lucile added, shrugging as she continued "Other then that, she doesn't know what they had planned for her at the moment."

"We'll have to up security then when we go out and make sure someone goes with Asia when she goes out." Kazuhiko spoke up thoughtfully, Diana nodding as she added "Maybe we should send someone to scout out the church and see if anyone settled there."

"I don't think we have anyone we could spare with how busy we'll be settling in to Kuoh Academy and starting the leaflets and contracts up for our group..." Kazuhiko explained with a frown, "Plus we should contact Grigori to find out if they sent them here before we do something that could cause trouble. They could have contacted Asia cause we are fairly low key with our work most of the time and didn't think she had nowhere to go."

"I suppose they could have thought that. Although, my mother directing her to seeing should have been viewed as Asia having somewhere to go." Martina spoke with a sigh, thinking about her teacher as she added "I'll contact Sensei after this and see if he can get us the information quicker then through the normal channels."

Kazuhiko nodded in thanks at hearing that, having almost forgot about the person who had taught Martina to use her Fallen Angel powers in the first place.

"Do you want to see about having Asia learn Kanji and Japanese, Kazu?" Diana asked curiously, Kazuhiko nodding as he answered "Yeah. I figure she should have a chance at a normal life so teaching her such would help her on that front."

"I'll help her learn and I'm sure Hiromi-san can help me out." Nagi spoke up, Hiromi shooting a annoyed look to the brunette before nodding "Alright. I'll help out."

"Thank you, Himi." Kazuhiko spoke with a smile, making the bluenette blush as she looked away, "Oh, you might need to get Daphne involve but I think that you might help her learn some [Enchantment Magic] and [Defensive Magic] so that at least she can run away or protect herself if the situation calls for it, if she wants to that is."

"I assume you want her to learn the stuff Wendy Marvell knows and the basic [Final Fantasy White Magic]?" Diana asked with an amused look, Kazuhiko blushing as he answered "Its just an idea seeing as she doesn't seem like the sort to hurt others from what we know. Stuff like [Protect], [Shell] and [Dispel] would work well to help her protect herself."

"Fufufu. I'll let Daphne know about it and help run the idea past Asia-san." Lucile spoke up with a giggle which was shared by the other girls of Kazuhiko's peerage.

"Ravel, we need to go." Rochelle spoke up from the doorway with a warm smile, Ravel nodding before hugging her half-brother as she spoke "Its nice to see you, Kazu-niisama."

"You too, Ravel-chan." Kazuhiko replied as he returned the hug before Ravel and her mother left.

...

"I helped that fox brat escape!" Riser let out a roar of anger as he stood in the smouldering remains of Kazuhiko's bedroom in Phenex Manor, throwing a fireball at the bed once more. Having looked around the sparsely decorated room after the tournament had ended had shown the blond that Kazuhiko hadn't left anything personal in the room and obviously seemed to have planned to ran away if not for his attack on the brown haired brat.

"I should have made sure he had died instead of believing his couldn't heal from those wounds." Riser snarled as he shot a blast of flames at the desk, incinerating it despite the fireproof spells placed over the whole room as was tradition for those of the Phenex Clan due to how closely they were to using fire in various ways.

Now that the truth had come out he had been confined to Phenex Manor by the Maou due to deceiving and lying about what had happened to Kazuhiko back then. Add in the fact he'd done it all to get Rias and the other clans had become wary of Riser and the Phenex as a whole about their heiresses and any future match between clans lest he try something similar.

"R-Riser-sama..." Yubelluna spoke nervously as she opened the door, Riser glaring to her and making her shrink away as she continued "L-Lord Phenex wishes to meet with you."

Riser took a moment to fix his dishevelled appearance before speaking "Lead the way then, 'Luna."

Yubelluna and Riser walked through the halls of Phenex Manor before the former came to a stop outside the doors that lead into Lord Phenex's office. Riser barged in regardless, seeing his father sitting with his hands entwined under his chin as he watched the newsreader speak [We received this statement from the [King of Kings] and [Bune Clan] heir, Kazuhiko Bune earlier about our requests for an interview.]

The woman pulled up a piece a paper to read from as she continued [It says: Sorry but currently I and my peerage are focused on our studies in the Human World and will not be able to attend to such until the [Young Devil Gathering] later on this year. I am thankful for all the well wishers and fans with regards to the [Tournament of Kings] and hope that I've inspired those who watched to become stronger in their own ways despite whatever troubles you have.]

"What kind of rubbish is this!?" Riser spoke angrily, Lord Phenex turning off the television before turning to his son as he answered "That was the first step of the Bune Clan returning to politics..."

...

Grayfia's mind was in chaos as she managed the maids of the Gremory Manor. She was still trying to work out who of her family could be Daphne's father as she had thought herself the only member of the Lucifuge family to survive the Civil War with her defection. A part of her wished she could ask Daphne herself and find out if there was some trouble on the horizon based on who it was but a request she had sent to meet with her and Kazuhiko had been rejected saying that they were busy with preparing for a new school.

'Maybe it could be Euclid...' Grayfia thought with a frown, 'He was believed to be dead but no one ever saw a body.'

...

Kazuhiko shifted nervously as he stood in the hallway of his home, dressed in his uniform as he waited for the girls - minus Martina who as a teacher needed to be there earlier - to come before they all transported away to make the trip quicker. He was wearing his Kuoh High uniform which consisted of a dark blue gakuran open with a white shirt underneath and black slacks and smart black shoes.

"Nervous?" Diana asked from next to him, a warm smile on her lips as she wore the female version as she preferred. It consisted of a white blouse that had the top few buttons undone to accommodate her chest and show a teasing glimpse of her cleavage with a dark blue cardigan that was buttoned up to the same point, a black skirt fell past mid-thigh and pantyhose was underneath for her own modesty sake.

"A little..." Kazuhiko started, "I'm a bit worried about their reaction to us all arriving at the same time and the fact we'll be under the eyes of Sona's group and whatever staff Lord Gremory has in the school already."

"Does it matter?" Rhiannon asked as she and Nagi walked to join them, "If they think something weird then let them."

Rhiannon was in a male uniform except she was wearing her white blouse untucked and had the top two buttons undone. Nagi on the other hand was wearing the proper female uniform, blouse and skirt with a blue tie and a dark blue blazer that buttoned up and white ankle socks and brown leather shoes.

"It would be fun to see what rumours they'll come up with." Nagi spoke with a giggle.

"Maybe we can fuel some for fun as well." Daphne suggested as she and Lucile arrived dressed in similar uniforms to Nagi but with stockings instead, black with red lace and white and icy blue respectively.

"You only want to protect us from the perverts there." Lucile pointed out, Daphne shrugging as she replied "It would be a side benefit of it."

The last three of their group arrived soon after, Jessica dressed much like Rhiannon while Hiromi and Samantha were dressed like Nagi albeit the former had knee socks and Samantha was wearing shorts under her skirt.

"Are you going to be alright here, Asia-san?" Kazuhiko asked the blonde who was standing nearby, getting a nod as she answered "Yes. Obaa-san and Ojii-san said they would help me learn the language so that I could join you at the school when I'm ready."

"That's great." Kazuhiko spoke with a smile, creating a magic circle under his peerage's feet as he added "Step back, Asia-san, so you don't get caught by this."

Asia nodded as she moved away, turning to watch the group who had accepted her without any hesitation as Kazuhiko spoke to his peerage "I've scouted out an alleyway we can use to teleport nearby."

"See you later, Asia-san." Kazuhiko and the girls spoke before they disappeared in the magic circle.

"Shall we get started with your lessons, Asia." Asia turned at hearing Rykeoss' words, nodding eagerly as she headed towards the woman.

...

"That is one heavily warded school." Daphne whistled in appreciation of the spell work she could sense that covered Kuoh Academy. The school was layered with spells that ranged from detection to protection and even a few that seemed to stop humans from doing anything criminal. The strength of them was probably the average High Class Devil given the two separate auras that were at work although there was more of one then the other, especially on the criminal dissuading ones there.

"They don't sense very strong." Rhiannon muttered, Daphne nodding as she explained "They aren't but the layering is on the level of a top tier Magician so the ones casting probably had one keeping an eye to make sure that they were all properly done if not helped them plan them."

"You could cast stronger though, Daph." Hiromi retorted, the silver-blonde nodding in response as they arrived at the gates only to hear the whispers coming from the students who had spotted them.

"Holy shit! Looks at those babes' tits." A bald headed male shouted in shock, easily the loudest out of the crowd of students - who was mostly questioning their uniforms, and drawing more attention to the new students. His friend, a glasses wearing young man, was also gaping at the girls with Kazuhiko as well before collapsing from the blood gushing out of his nose. The other one turned to his friend alarmed at seeing what happened and questioning what had happened.

Kazuhiko glared at the pair as he heard the shout, making the two remaining members shudder in fear as they turned to see him glaring. Diana took note of the disgust on the female students before speaking softly in a reserved tone "Looks like they are the public enemies."

"Let's head inside and find the staff room so we can learn which classes we are in." Samantha spoke up nervously, Kazuhiko nodding as the group started to move again. Hiromi wrinkled her nose at the trio's reactions as she walked along with the group.

...

Kazuhiko took a calming breathe as he lent against the wall in the corridor as he recalled how his peerage was split up. The third years were split into two pairs: Diana and Rhiannon was one and Hiromi and Jessica was the other. Samantha was on her own in the first years while Daphne, Nagi and Lucile were all in the same class as second years like Kazuhiko himself although he was on his own. At least the opening ceremony for the year had explained the whole student exchange with Kuoh High School.

'I seriously hope that the girls don't have to deal with those perverts from this morning...' He thought with a frown. Kazuhiko had figured out that the 'anti-criminal spells' were for them between what had happened earlier and what he had heard from the female students while making his way here.

"Please enter." A old female voice spoke up, Kazuhiko nodding to the old teacher as he entered the room. The brunet's eyes locked onto the duo of males who shot glares at him the moment he had entered as the bald one blurted out as they pointed at him "What the hell is that bishonen bastard doing in here!?"

"Sit down, Matsuda!" The teacher snapped back, stopping him or his friend from adding anything as they sat down to the glares of the female portion from the class. The teacher took a moment to calm down before continuing "This is our new student as part of the exchange program with Kuoh High School."

"Hello, I'm Yuuki Kazuhiko. It's nice to meet you all." Kazuhiko greeted simply with a small wave, internally grimacing at seeing the happy looks from the female portion of the class and already practically picturing the fan club that could start up as the teacher spoke "Save your questions till the breaks, class. Yuuki-san, please take a seat behind Kiryuu. Put your hand up."

Kazuhiko's gaze landed on the perverted looking brunette who held her hand up, moving to take the seat behind her before his eyes widened at the smiling yet surprised pale-skinned young woman on the next desk over. She stood at five foot five with a voluptuous, slender figure, the curves of which were shown off by her uniform. She had choppy chocolate brown hair that fell around her red-brown eyes in thick bangs the longest of which stopped at her cheeks while the back it spiked out into two short tails that brushed her shoulders.

"Isane-san?" Kazuhiko questioned surprised, Isane Hyoudou flashing a perverted smile as she looked him up and down before replying "Hey Kazu-kun, we should catch up later. In private."

The rest of the class gaped in surprise at realising that the female pervert knew the attractive exchange student as Kazuhiko nodded and sat down behind Aika Kiryuu who was looking questioningly at her friend and fellow pervert. The teacher started the lesson, stopping any chance for the other students to stare, or glare in the case of the boys, at Kazuhiko any longer.

...

Koneko Toujou frowned at the new student, Samantha, that was sitting on her right, a mixture of envy and wariness warring inside of her as she risked another glance to her and finding her eyes drop to the girls bust with jealousy. Samantha had looked uncomfortable at being gawked at by the perverts in the room and had quickly taken her seat once directed to it but she recalled how competent the greenette was in a fight.

The white haired loli turned her gaze to Ruruko only to see the girl sending an envious look at Samantha and knew that their new [King] would want them to keep an ear our for any information she divulged. Turning back to the teacher, Koneko and Ruruko did their best to not show how annoyed they were at seeing someone so well developed in their year.

...

Genshirou Saji stared at the trio of Daphne, Nagi and Lucile that were the new addition to his, and Kiba's, class. He couldn't help picturing them in the black tight outfits they had wore during the tournament even though they were wearing more modest uniforms and that each one of Kazuhiko's peerage could protect themselves while also rivalling the top four girls of the school, Rias, Akeno, Sona and Tsubaki, in terms of looks and would probably become popular in the future.

The trio took their seats at the front as Genshirou turned to Yuuto to see him looking curiously at the them as well but his gaze was more focused on Nagi of the trio due to her being a fellow [Knight].

...

Rias Gremory stiffened at seeing Diana and Rhiannon standing at the front of her class, wondering if she could get tips from the former of the duo about how to use the [Power of Destruction] as they took their seats in front of herself and Akeno. Diana had been particularly aloof to the few guys in classes' stares and comments while Rhiannon had snorted and rolled her eyes in disgust.

The Gremory heiress shook her head and mouthed the word 'later' at seeing the questioning look on Akeno's face, knowing that she would have to share the idea of asking Kazuhiko's peerage for some help training especially after witnessing how well they fought during the tournament.

...

Sona Sitri frowned as she regarded the two students in her class: Hiromi and Jessica. The former of the two smirked back at her at the distinct breast envy that was barely concealed on Sona's face. The Sitri heiress was also hoping that at least they could cooperate in working to protecting and governing the town as it would make things much easier for them both if they could.

She glanced to Tsubaki to see that her stoic [Queen] was regarding the pair with uncertainly as they sat down near the back. The two raven haired girls wondering what sort of reactions the group of exchange students would have to deal with from the male students of the school after they had walked onto campus as a single group.

...

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What are your hobbies?"

"What's your relationship with those girls, shitty bishonen?"

Kazuhiko's eyes darted as he focused on each person who asked a question of him, the last one coming from one of the [Perverted Duo] who was getting glared at as he answered "No, I don't. I'm a fan of anime, games and mythology but I did take part in the Track team at Kuoh High. The girls are my friends and we all agreed it was best to arrive together so we'd at least know someone and not be overwhelmed by some from the reputations we've here."

The girls around all turned their glares onto the Perverted Duo as they understood what Kazuhiko had meant, making them shrink back and then slink off.

"How do you and Ise know each other?" Aika asked curiously, looking between her friend and Kazuhiko as the former explained "We met in my old home town when he helped me deal with some bullies and while he was staying in town as part of his company's business he and the girls who are his bodyguards taught me some self defence although you do have more guards then when I last saw you."

"Please don't make things up, Isane-san..." Kazuhiko whined, not wanting the students to believe that particularly near truthful story as he added "We were only there as a student exchange for about a month and we became close that's also why those from then are amongst the group to come here."

Isane gave him an amused knowing leer as she nodded and spoke "Yes. That does make sense why Diana kept a close eye on you back then and wouldn't let me close."

"You did have a thing for 'love bites' back then and even tried to peek on me several times as well." Kazuhiko countered with a knowing look, unaware at the group of students were looking almost resigned at hearing that Isane had been a pervert back then as well.

Any other questions were stopped before being asked by the ringing of the bell to signal the start of the next class and making the students hurrying back to their seats and Kazuhiko's eyes widen as Martina entered the classroom dressed in a white blouse that had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a couple buttons undone to show off her cleavage with a black pencil skirt, stockings and low heels. Her hair was gathered into a bun at the back of her head to give her a more stern look with a pair of oval, wire-framed glasses on her nose and an illusion made her ears appear normal.

"Hello class, I'm Lorenzo-sensei and I'll be teaching you English." Martina greeted with a small smile which was subtly directed to Kazuhiko.

...

The rest of the day passed by fairly uneventfully as Kazuhiko and his peerage spent some time with their classmates to settle in and learn more about the 'idols' of the school.

Isane and Kazuhiko were sitting in an empty classroom at the end of the day, waiting for the rest of the former's peerage to join them so they could talk over their day and just in case Sona wanted to talk with Kazuhiko again.

"I didn't think we would meet again here." Isane spoke with a soft smile, licking her lips unconsciously as her eyes drifted to Kazuhiko's neck once more as he replied "You should have contacted me when you moved here... I mean you knew I lived in Japan."

"My parents didn't want to risk us being found after the help you gave me with dealing with the Carmilla Faction." Isane answered, looking away sadly as she added "Plus I didn't want to leave my parents to go running around with you and the girls."

"It's fine." Kazuhiko replied with an understanding nod, "The girls visit their families on the weekend at times but I know they still miss them as well."

"Isane-san?" Nagi asked surprised as she entered the room, Lucile and Daphne behind her as the Nagi added "It's surprising that we meet here. I didn't know you moved here."

"I didn't know you were all here either." Isane replied embarrassed as the rest of Kazuhiko's peerage entered and introductions were made as Kazuhiko finished with, "This is Isane Hyoudou-Zagan, a Vampire/Devil hybrid. Diana, Himi and Nagi met her with me while we were in Romania with Baasan for her project."

Rykeoss Bune's project was well known for those in the room as those who were the illegitimate children of devils had been sought out that way as she was looking to revive the extinct Devil Pillars of the Underworld by their children. Mephisto Pheles had helped her as well with searching since the end of the Civil War by using his network amongst the Magicians and Rykeoss and Kazuhiko would visit to explain things if they didn't know and provide some basic training for them before handing them over to Mephisto for more and the information they would need to pass the exams.

So far they had only managed to revive the [Leraje], [Focalor] and [Raim] Clans as the found heirs had reached the level of High Class to be put forwards by Mephisto to take private High Class exams with Ajuka and succeeded to pass them. The clans were only officially recognised as revived when the heir had marriage and had an heir of their own although it seems that Elders only accepted full devils so marrying with someone from the other clans ended up happening. Lucile and Daphne could have revived their own clans but had insisted on joining with Kazuhiko peerage instead back then.

The project being known to Ajuka Beelzebub had been the means for Kazuhiko to get his own [Evil Pieces] as Tannin and Mephisto had presented a non-magically disguised Kazuhiko as a found part devil for the [Bune Clan] and that he had been adopted by Rykeoss, who he was aware was part of the project, and that his name being similar was a coincidence as Ajuka had never formally met Kazuhiko when he lived at the Phenex Manor and few people had known he was part Kyuubi.

"I take it you didn't want to take part in the project?" Daphne asked, Isane nodding as she answered "Tou-san left the Underworld much like Rykeoss-san did so didn't see much point as if he returns they reinstate the [Zagan Clan] at that point."

A perverted, fanged smirk formed on her lips as she leered at Kazuhiko as she added "Plus I couldn't see myself marrying a 'pure' devil when I've been craving some demonic fox blood."

Kazuhiko blushed as the girls giggled, Martina brushing her skirt down as she spoke "Well, as long as you leave enough blood in him for his special tail to work I don't mind you sampling him."

"M-Martina!" Kazuhiko spoke embarrassed, Martina winking as she added "I should go, I've got paperwork to finish before I can head home."

"I should get going as well." Nagi spoke as she stood up, "I was approached by two of your classmates, Murayama and Katase about joining the Kendo club after a few members learnt I knew Kendo. If that's alright?"

"Yeah that's fine, Nagi-chan." Kazuhiko replied, Nagi leaving the room as Diana spoke up as she, Hiromi and Daphne stood up, "Daphne, Hiromi and I should get going as we said we'd start teaching Asia-san some magic."

"That's fine." Kazuhiko nodded in response, Isane smiling amused as she spoke "You do act like a good [King] now. I remember how you had trouble keeping Himi from challenging Diana at times."

"Well, that was cause she was insistent on the Alpha position back then." Kazuhiko muttered embarassed, the remaining girls smiling amused as Lucile asked "Did you think about joining the peerage back then?"

"Not really... I was more interested in learning to protect myself and hunting Vampires." Isane admitted sheepishly, "Back then, I was just happy for the idea to use Walter as my fighting style and learning to adjust to it."

Several metal wires quickly snaked out of her blouse sleeve before she moved her fingers to manipulate them wrapping around a desk chair and lift it as she added "I can even control if they are razor sharp or not and do this."

The wires put the chair down before releasing the chair, entwining themselves in the air with a natural ease till there was a spear made out of metal wires floating near her hand with wires still going up her sleeve.

"That level of control is amazing." Samantha spoke amazed, Isane smiling friendly to the greenette as she replied "I've practised a lot over the years and more then a few vampires have fell to them."

Isane blushed sheepishly as a grumble came from her stomach, rubbing it as she added "I'd best go... Don't want to accidentally feed on someone."

"We'll see you tomorrow then." Kazuhiko spoke with an understanding nod as he added "We should get back and see if the leaflets are done as well."

With that Isane grabbed her bag and left while saying her goodbyes to those still there before Kazuhiko and the remaining members of his peerage left soon after.

...

"Are you sure that I'll be able to do this so soon?" Asia asked nervously, Daphne offering a smile as she explained "Normally it would take a while for a Magician to learn how to form magic circles for the spells but I'm hoping that your [Twilight Healing] can act as a focus. With that focus, it should make it easier for you to learn healing, defensive and enhancement magic much like devils can."

"Healing Magic?" Asia asked confused, "But doesn't [Twilight Healing] already do that?"

"From what you've explained before you've only focused on physical injuries. Kazu suggested that it might be possible for you to heal what games would refer to as 'status effects'. Things like paralysis, magical induced confusion, magical induced sleep, poison and maybe even low level curses." Diana answered kindly, Asia looking amazed, "Also you can always improve your skill with healing and even the range at which you can do it."

Asia nodded eagerly at the ideas being put forwards and realising that there was more to healing then just the physical as she asked "How do I learn to do those?"

"Trial and error mainly..." Hiromi answered, Daphne and Diana nodding as the bluenette added "We'll start easy and work it up to more serious stuff."

...

"These are the summoning leaflets." Rykeoss spoke to the gathered members of Kazuhiko's peerage, holding up one to show that at the middle was a copy of the [Bune Clan] circle, "Now, normally these would be handed out by familiars but as none of you have them at the moment you'll have to hand them out yourselves. The requests made by these will appear as a sheet on Kazu-kun's desk so he can hand them over to you and these sheets will help you transport to the summoner's location."

"I suppose we'll have to do it in small groups." Kazuhiko chimed in, "It would be odd for us all to be out handing them out. Plus in small groups we can keep an eye on what's going on in this town and what the Fallen Angels are after here while the others can do other things."

"Did your Sensei get back in touch?" Lucile asked Martina curiously, getting a nod from the ravenette as she answered "He said that the Fallen Angels were sent here to keep an eye on some people with Sacred Gears in the town. Nothing dangerous from the sounds of it but not super common ones either."

"What about them approaching Asia?" Diana asked, Martina shrugging as she answered "He wasn't aware of any orders they have about her but its possible they want to take her in and keep her safe like we do."

"I take it he didn't mention who those Sacred Gear users were, did he?" Kazuhiko asked thoughtfully, Martina shaking her head as she replied "Said he didn't want to have Azazel badgering our group after he learns about Sam or Jess' Sacred Gears or whatever you get to happen if you start tutoring their wielders with their powers and whatever changes occurs with Asia's."

"Fair enough." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, turning his gaze to Diana as he asked "How'd your first lesson with Asia go?"

"She's interested in what we said she could learn and eager to start so we tried to start with [Barrier] first but didn't have much luck. I think the Church stunted her imagination in some ways." Diana answered with a sad smile, Kazuhiko nodding in understanding as he replied "Well, its only the first lesson so there's chance to improve. If things don't maybe show her some of the barriers Orihime's [Shun Shun Rikka] can make and see if that would work better for her."

"Anything else we need to talk about?" Kazuhiko asked the other, his grandmother smiling pleased at her grandson as she added "I've heard that preliminary talks between the Church and Devils have started about re compensation for what Diodora has been doing. Only set things so far is that Diodora has been imprisoned and his peerage are in counselling to help them with the abuse he put them through."

"What'll happen to his peerage after that?" Jessica asked concerned, Rykeoss smiling slightly as she answered "They'll be labelled as wards of the [Astaroth Clan] but beyond that it would be down to the clan. They could still act as [Free Pieces] and work towards becoming [High Class] themselves but that would be up to them to decide individually."

"Well, at least they are away from that slimy bastard." Rhiannon retorted with the agreement of the others.

"Yeah... Rhian, Jess, will you both join me with handing out the leaflets this evening?" Kazuhiko asked, getting a nod from the pair before he added "We'll do it under illusions so we can avoid people connecting us to these contract leaflets."

"Right." The others spoke in agreement with Kazuhiko's plan.

...

The next week passed by quickly as Kazuhiko and his peerage mixed in contract work with getting use to the new school. They had also continued with their training and Isane had taken to joining in while Kazuhiko continued his lessons in [Senjutsu] with Yasaka and moved onto learning how to use [Touki]. He had also sat in on Asia's lessons once to see her Sacred Gear starting to evolve as it formed a barrier for her to use out of the soothing green aura although she had seemed to be touched at watching the parts of [Bleach] involving Orihime Inoue so Kazuhiko wasn't sure if her Sacred Gear would evolve even further or not yet.

Kazuhiko lifted his gaze from where he was packing his things to watch Murayama and Katase leave for their club, curious what their [Sacred Gears] were after Nagi had sensed them from the time she had spent with the Kendo club after joining. He didn't plan to bring them into the supernatural world but would at least keep an eye on them if they drew any attention and had also slipped a summoning leaflet into both of their bags as a further insurance in case they were targeted on their way home.

'Hopefully they won't need them...' Kazuhiko thought to himself as he sensed a fallen angel watching the school just as Saji entered the classroom and spoke as he came to a stop near him, "Excuse me Yuuki-san but Kaichou would like to talk to you about how you and your friends are settling in."

"Ah. Lead the way then." Kazuhiko replied with a nod, slinging his satchel bag over his shoulder and following after the sandy haired young man. The brunet was guessing Sona wanted to continue their conversation from when he handed over Rias which had been interrupted by the redhead's family.

'Although whether she wants to know why I use anime characters for the basis of the mine and the girls' fighting styles or how I met with several half devils is another question.' Kazuhiko thought, absently sensing that Diana, Rhiannon, Hiromi and Jessica was already in the student council room as they came to a stop and Saji knocked the door and spoke clearly "We're here, Kaichou."

"Enter." Sona replied from inside, Saji leading the way inside as Kazuhiko followed to see Rias and Sona sitting on the opposite sofa to his quartet. Diana and Jessica were sitting on the ends while Hiromi and Rhiannon was shooting looks at each other from where they stood behind it.

"So, what's up?" Kazuhiko asked as he approached the sofas, taking the free seat between to of his peerage. Sona waited for Tsubaki to serve the brunet tea before she spoke "Leviathan-neesama has contacted me about the deal that has been made with the church over what Diodora has been doing. They agreement is that we have a small group of the church move into the town to act as liaisons with us and to test if the church and devils can co-exist but they want to have a final meeting between us both, the two [Kings] of Kuoh, to finalise the details."

"That's fine with me." Kazuhiko answered with a shrug, sipping his tea for a moment as he added "I figure talks would happen once Diodora was revealed but mainly did it to avoid a war breaking out if the church caught or figured it was him. Plus it'll be nice for Asia to have someone to talk to as long as they get off their high horse about her."

"The girl who was Diodora's latest target is living with you?" Rias spoke surprised, Kazuhiko rolling his eyes at how Rias was acting as he explained "She was already on the way when the tournament was going on. She actually arrived early due to the Fallen Angels in town as something extra to their observation mission."

"Who are they observing?" Sona asked curiously, Diana speaking up after Kazuhiko nodded, "Katase Kozuki and Murayama Fujino in my class. They both have Sacred Gears but we're worried that with their attempt to subvert Asia-chan to alter the plans to meet up with us, we are concerned they'd not be sticking to their original orders."

"What do you plan to for them?" Sona asked, Kazuhiko shaking his head as he explained "At the moment I'm only keeping an eye on them. I have no intention of disrupting their lives. If they awaken their Sacred Gears or I have to step in to save them then I'll only offer training and knowledge so they can make their own choices."

"Why wouldn't you ask them to join you?" Rias asked confused, Diana smirking slightly as she answered "Kazu-sama hasn't asked anyone to join his peerage..."

The surprise of the two third years and the other members of the student council was noticeable as Jessica piped in "All Kaz has done is teach us to defend ourselves and those that didn't know learnt about the supernatural as well. In the end, we all joined for our own reasons but I can definitely say that not being bugged about it is one of them, along with not being seen as trophy women to him."

"I should explain that we assisted Lady Bune with the [Pillar Restoration Project] before High School so explaining the Factions to them obviously comes with talks about peerages, [Evil Pieces] and reincarnation or already knew such things. But we don't know which Clan they are from before a test is performed on them, even with the large network we have sensing out demonic in the human world." Diana pointed out, getting a look of realisation from Sona as she spoke "Why hasn't anyone done this before?"

"Because the Elders don't like impure devils being in charge of Pillars." Kazuhiko answered with a disgusted snort, "The rules they put into place once the project was started way back when means that anyone who wants to restart their Pillar has to be married to a pure devil and have a child, an heir, before the clan gets reinstated. The trouble with that is that elder devils look down on reincarnated devils so much that such matches are more often for influence or combining clan abilities. The only reason the [Bune Clan] was classed as extinct is cause Baasan rarely dealt with the Underworld politics after the Civil War. Now that she's at least operating at times there and I'm declared as her heir they can't stop the clan from being revived especially with the victory from the [Tournament of Kings]."

The two friends opposite Kazuhiko shared a look of understanding at what he was saying before Rias asked "What about Isane Hyoudou?"

"She's someone we met through the project before and a member of the [Zagan Clan]." Hiromi answered, "She didn't show any intention of joining us back then and its a surprise for us to find her here now."

"I suppose that makes sense why not of my peerage noticed anything unusual about her." Sona spoke with a understanding nod before pushing a thick folder over the coffee table to Kazuhiko as she continued "I also wanted to ask for your assistance with a group of strays that I've been asked to deal with on the outskirts of Kuoh Town. I figure it would be a good chance for us to become use to working with each other and any holes we need to cover for each other."

Kazuhiko hummed thoughtfully as he picked up the folder and skimmed through it before speaking "That's understandable and would be easier to deal with them with a large group. When do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow evening, if that's acceptable." Sona answered, Kazuhiko nodding in response as he added "That's fine with me."

"I'd like to help you meet with Gasper-kun as well." Rias spoke up, Kazuhiko raising an eyebrow in wonder of how she knew he had been refused unsealing of Rias' former [Bishop] as she flushed and continued "Onii-sama told me about it and left the seal so that I could meet with him."

"That would be nice." Kazuhiko spoke with a slow nod, "I'd like to reassure him given the change and the fact he would be a free piece for me means I have no intention of forcing him to fight for me."

Rias smiled at hearing that while Sona gave a small nod of approval.

...

Author's Note

Hopefully the explanation of how Kazuhiko got his [Evil Pieces] makes sense as I'd imagine Ajuka would have protections up against magical disguises but would overlook someone using a wig, coloured contact lenses and make up. Plus with a project to restore the extinct Pillars, I can't see Ajuka looking too deeply into the background of those brought to him as part of it. The project also helps explain how Kazu met most of his peerage as he helps some of the learn to fight with anime styles as a start and I figure they wouldn't be able to find out the specific clan of someone without a test being done so meeting illegitimate children of the other Pillars is bound to happen.

Oh, Isane's build is based off of Inner Moka from Rosario+Vampire although not sure if I'll do a good job with making her a bit perverted.


	6. Chapter 6

Here's the next chapter. Took a while to work out with coming up with ideas for the stray devils along with having to look into both Youjutsu and Senjutsu and figuring out how each would work for Kazuhiko and Yokai in DxD and the explanation about both makes it clearer. Also I'd like to point out for those who haven't realised it that Isane is a Female Issei and is half Vampire and half Devil so doesn't really need a Sacred Gear.

...

Kazuhiko followed behind Rias as she lead him, Rhiannon and Lucile to the sealed room that Gasper had been living inside in the Old School Building, his fox ears twitching as he looked around the seemingly abandoned building. The meeting with Sona had ended soon after Rias' suggestion and they had agreed to meet up the next evening to plan how they would deal with the strays. The brunet had called Lucile as she had the Gremory kindness and a great deal of empathy while Rhiannon could use her [Belphegor] flames to negate Gasper's powers without hurting him.

"So we are finally to meet with Gasper-kun?" Lucile asked softly, Kazuhiko nodding as he looked to Rhiannon as he added "Best behaviour, Rhian. We don't want to scare him more then he already is given he has trouble controlling his power."

"Alright." Rhiannon spoke with a roll of her eyes, looking away with a light blush as Kazuhiko squeezed her hand in thanks. Lucile let out a light giggle at seeing that, ignoring the look Rias gave the trio as they came to a stop outside of a pair of double doors with chains and several magic circles covering it.

"This is where he's staying." Rias spoke to them as they looked over the protections, "They release each night to allow Gasper-kun to come out but he doesn't like being outside at all."

"He's a Hikikomori then..." Kazuhiko mused as he noticed Lucile hum and step closer to look at the circles before commented "I suppose not being able to control his time freezing powers would make him scared of hurting those closest to him."

Kazuhiko nodded in understanding as Rias looked surprised at Lucile's words and working it out so quickly before watching the seals light up as night fell outside. Rias knocked on the door gently, earning her a shriek from inside before Rias spoke "Gasper, I've come to see you."

"Nooo~" Gasper cried from inside, Kazuhiko wincing as his clutched at his fox ears for a moment. He moved to place a hand on the door before starting to use his [Youjutsu], creating a hexagonal magic circle in a soothing blue colour to send out a calming mist through the door before speaking himself "Gasper Vladi-kun... My name is Kazuhiko Bune and I'd like to talk to you as well, if that's okay? We can do it through the door if you like..."

Rias watched conflicted as she felt the soothing aura wash over her, wondering what Gasper's response would be as Lucile and Rhiannon smiled. A few beats of silence passed before Gasper timidly asked "W-What are you d-doing?"

"I'm just using my [Youjutsu] to send our a soothing mist with [Rain Flames'] [Tranquility] applied to it to help calm people down. Its easier to do then the [Senjutsu] equivalent. I know it can be scary to deal with new people and I want to make it easier for you." Kazuhiko replied, a soft smile on his lips as he was impressed that Gasper had sensed it when the spell was only a low level.

"Th-Thank y-you." Gasper replied, Kazuhiko's smile growing as the little Dhampir spoke "Wh-What will happen to me n-n-now? I-I know you already have two [Bishops]..."

"Well, my plan was for you to be a free piece so you won't have to fight or serve me and you'll still have my protection... The Elders have refused to let me unseal you but in the future, if you want, I and my peerage would be happy to help you learn to control your powers so you can be free to do what you want." Kazuhiko answered, sensing that Gasper had stilled at his words. The brunet had no intention of forcing Gasper to follow him and as Gasper had said Kazuhiko already had both [Bishops] so Gasper wouldn't be needed to involve himself in future Rating Games.

"I-I-I...I would like that." Gasper spoke quietly, Kazuhiko's ears straining to pick it up as he nodded before asking "Is there anything else you want to know, Gasper-kun?"

From there the conversation turned more lighthearted as Kazuhiko and Gasper traded questions and answers so they could get to know each other better. Kazuhiko even told the Dhampir about Isane and suggested maybe next time he came he brought her along which was tentatively agreed upon.

...

"Ne, Ise-chan... You shouldn't exhaust yourself." A younger Kazuhiko spoke before he bit into his wrist to make a wound. Isane's eyes widening as she looked at the offered blood pooling into his palm as he added "Go on... I'll be fine."

Isane lent forward to lap up the rich crimson life fluid, savouring the delicious taste each time. She slowly worked her tongue up to his wrist before latching on to greedily suck on his blood at finding her hunger barely fading.

"Ah~ Ise-chan... Don't take too much." An older Kazuhiko groaned, Isane straddling his lap as she sucked on his neck. She moaned as she ground against his crotch as she tried to reach her peak, her hands moving to work Kazuhiko's slacks down and closer to her prize.

Isane groaned as she woke up at the sound of her alarm, disappointed at how the enjoyable dream was cut short by her alarm clock. She shot a glare at the device before slapping a hand onto the top of it and switching it off, huffing as she thought, 'Why doesn't the dream continue past that point...? I've been having the same one every night since meeting Kaz-kun again.'

Moving to the mini fridge in her room, Isane grabbed a transfusion bag of blood before she could contemplate teleporting over to where Kazuhiko was living and go for a fresh bite. The need had grown stronger after starting to attend training with Kazuhiko and his peerage, just like it had in the past, and Isane had found herself entranced by rivults of blood from minor wounds Kazuhiko got before his regeneration or his magic fully repaired them.

Shaking her head and taking a sip of blood, Isane started to gather her clothes for a morning shower, hoping to have time to rid herself of some of the frustration that came from her dreams and the increased urge to drink Kazuhiko's blood.

...

"Are you alright?" Isane asked as Kazuhiko slumped into his seat in the sparsely filled class, the brunet nodding as he murmured so only she could hear him "There's been a bunch of marriage contracts sent by other clans and I had to go through them with Baasan to see if there was any hidden clauses that meant I had to reject them in a certain manner or avoid getting trapped just by touching them or something."

"Seriously? There are contracts like that." Isane asked shocked, Kazuhiko nodding as he answered "One had a clause that if it wasn't rejected within eight hours of receiving it that it became valid so we had to do the whole stack of them through the night. The girls were rather unamused at the attempt by the Glasya-Labolas Clan for that. Not to mention the one from the Phenex Clan tried to sneak in for my own half sister."

Isane bit back her growl at the thought of Kazuhiko being forced into an arranged marriage. Shaking her head, Isane decided to talk about what Hiromi had told her before as she asked "So, Himi told me that there's going to be a stray hunt this evening?"

"Yeah." Kazuhiko answered, glancing around before continuing "Kaichou asked for our assistance with dealing with a group of strays on the outskirts so we can become more use to working together and knowing each other's group's weak points."

"Want me to come along?" Isane asked curiously, Kazuhiko shrugging as he answered "If you want to, I've got no trouble with it."

...

That evening saw the two peerages and Isane gathered in the Occult Research club room, peering over a map of the area the strays had been spotted. The map was of half a dozen log cabins that were used for some scout group during the summer break and included a large mess hall and several dorms houses with the items that people would need. The clearing was surrounded by trees and had a path for cars to travel on as well as a small lake for water activities.

"So, what are the numbers?" Kazuhiko asked as he looked over the map, Sona nodding to Tsubaki before the latter handed over a file as the former spoke "There's four that have been spotted but maybe more."

"Right." Kazuhiko spoke, picking up the file and creating a copy to hand to Martina and Diana for themselves to leaf through with him as he continued "I'd guess you'd want at least four groups so we can surround them and maybe a team to keep a barrier up in case their are more or to stop those from getting away."

"That's right." Sona spoke with a nod before admitting "I'd rather not let any of them get away and Momo can't hold a barrier of that size on her own."

"Daphne-chan can help with keeping the barrier up." Kazuhiko added, glancing to the blonde who nodded in agreement.

"I'll be leading a team with Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko as they are use to following my orders." Rias spoke up, Sona nodding in agreement as she added "I'd like to have my team consist of myself, Tsubaki, Yura and Saji but also think that one of your members should come with each of us just in case they are stronger then we expect."

"Martina-san, you okay to go with Rias' group while Nagi, can go with Sona's?" Kazuhiko asked as he looked to the pair.

"I don't mind that arrangement." Martina spoke, glancing to seeing Akeno glaring at her as Nagi nodded in agreement with a kind smile "I'm fine with such as well. I imagine Sitri-san has some questions for me as well."

"As for our groups... I'll lead one and Diana, you lead the other." Kazuhiko pointed out, Diana nodding as she spoke up "I'll take Hiromi, Jessica and Samantha with me which will leave Lucile, Rhiannon and Isane can go along with you."

"I'd like the rest of my peerage to split up amongst your two teams as well." Sona added, Isane smirking as she chimed in "Want to keep an eye on the competition, eh?"

"I just want to have someone observe so we can work better in the future." Sona replied as she adjusted her glasses.

...

Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, Koneko and Martina were walking from the north towards the camping site after the barrier had been put up over the area. The former Gremory group were rather relaxed for the most part about working together like old times although Akeno was barely concealing her glare at Martina who had changed into the battle uniform she had worn during the Tournament of Kings and was staying near the back.

"So, why do you keep glaring at me, Ms. Himejima?" Martina asked curiously, glancing to the ravenette next to her who averted her gaze as she spoke "It must be nice being able to use our father's power. He must have thought my Kaa-san a fling on the side..."

"Our father?" Martina asked bemused, at least glad that the other three hadn't looked back before it clicked and she clarified "Barakiel isn't my father... In fact, he'd have been a better father then my own as mine slept with my mother to try and pervert her faith and I was just the result."

Akeno looked shocked at hearing that, Martina shrugging as she continued "My mother kept me even after that and sought to keep my true nature from myself and the church. I only found out about being a Nephilim due to the attack that lead to me meeting Kazu-kun and I forgave my mother because of the trouble that could have happened."

Martina paused for a moment to gauge Akeno's reaction before adding "I won't lie and say I haven't met your father but that is due to Bune-sama helping to arrange training for me and the fact I just have a good enough affinity to be able to use his signature power. The best thing to do is try and see about talking to him to get the full story."

Akeno scowled as she nodded before the pair moving to catch up with the rest of the group as she asked "She accepts that you're a devil now?"

"Of course..." Martina spoke with a pleased smile, "She's rather pleased I've found someone who is accepting of all of me and I think she's rather happy for someone like Kazu-sama as a son-in-law if me and the girls can fully cure him."

Rias winced at catching the tail-end of the conversation, reaching the tree line of the camp site as she spoke "Akeno, Koneko, can you sense the Stray Devil?"

Akeno and Koneko focused for a few moments, Martina amused that Rias hadn't asked herself to do it given she was obvious stronger then the rest of the group and had more skill with her magic.

Martina absently making her bow of holy-lightning as she glanced around, noting with a pleased look that Yuuto had create a sword of his own at the ready for if the Stray tried to surprise them.

"Its coming from the left... very fast." Akeno spoke surprised, everyone turning as Yuuto used his [Knight] speed to leap in front of them as a were-lion looking stray devil appeared with a feral grin and glowing red eyes and took a swipe with sharp claw of one hand.

Yuuto was sent flying by the first strike, although his sword blocked the claws, before Akeno and Martina fired of her lightning and holy lightning arrow respectively, the latter piercing and removing the arm after the former's attack made it stagger backwards after striking its face. The loud roar of pain was cut short as Koneko slammed a small fist into the stray's stomach.

Rias shot a ball of her [Power of Destruction] as Martina aimed another arrow, the crimson-black power destroying the hand that came up to cover his face before the holy-lightning arrow pierced through its head.

"Well, this one is done." Martina spoke with a sigh of relief before turning to where Yuuto had appeared as she asked "Do you not have a defensive sword, Yuuto-san?"

Yuuto looked confused and surprised as Martina added "A sword that creates a barrier or something?"

"Ah... No." Yuuto admitted embarrassed, Martina raising an eyebrow as she retorted "Well, its something to think about. Just because you're a [Knight] doesn't mean you shouldn't just rely on your speed to protect yourself."

...

"From what Kaa-san told me, my Tou-san was in Tokyo for a medical conference about the hospital he worked at in Japan for six months and it was only when she got pregnant that he broke things off and her heart. She refused to get rid of me against her family's wishes and all but disowned her." Sona stayed silent as she looked to Nagi as she digested the piece of information she had just been given by her half-sister swordswoman. The Sitri heiress had asked for what Nagi knew about their father and how it had happened and she felt distinctly uncomfortable that what her father had done had broken up Nagi's family so she had only known her mother since she was young.

She and Nagi were near the back of her group but still within listening range for Tsubaki, Tsubasa and Genshirou as they approached from the West. Sona glanced to the brunette as she asked "How did you decide on your style?"

"Kazu-sama is a wonderful teacher. It starts with him watching what I already could do and what other skills I was learning to use. From there, Kazu-sama picked a few anime characters for me to decide on and showed me clips of the techniques I might learn and then helps me master them, he is rather good at demonstrating them for me and the others. Otherwise, we all do the same physical and magical training to ensure we are up to standard."

"That sounds fairly easy for you, doesn't it get boring." Genshirou retorted, Nagi smiling kindly to the [Pawn] as she replied "Not at all... We all have our own little experimentation time along with it and Kazu-sama even does a couple 'one man army' type tasks to see how we handle multiple opponents on our own."

"'One man army'?" Sona asked, Nagi nodding as she answered "It's from [Super Smash Brothers] games and basically sets the player against as many opponents as they can handle before being beaten. Kazu-sama with his skills and some help managed to create a room that would create numerous opponents for someone to face and sees how many one can take out before falling; its rather interesting to see how well you survive against the hordes of souls Alucard would probably have."

Tsubasa and Genshirou stared at the brunette in shock as she walked past them before looking back to Sona as she spoke "I shall check ahead for the Stray Devil that we're after."

Nagi disappeared in a blur of speed and leaving Sona and Tsubaki to look at the shocked pair before the latter asked "What was she on about?"

"Alucard is the king of vampires in an anime called [Hellsing Ultimate] and is practically immortal given how easily he regenerates from numerous wounds he takes in the fights. The amount of souls he has within was enough for him to swamp London in the anime and fight a special division of the Vatican and the bad guys' army of vampires all at the same time." Tsubasa answered as she shook her head in disbelief.

Tsubaki and Sona shared a surprised look as Genshirou added "Don't forget that Alucard is Dracula as well, Tsubasa-san."

'To think Kazuhiko could create something so frightening with his illusions and make them seem like they are real.' Tsubaki thought with a barely suppressed shudder at what Kazuhiko might put an enemy through if he used it fully on them during the tournament.

"The stray seems to be staying near the lake house like we expected." Nagi spoke as she reappeared, Sona nodding before she started to give out orders.

"Tsubasa, Saji, I want you two to take the lead, I, Tsubaki and Nagi-san will back you up. Nagi-san, I'd like for you to avoid stepping in unless we need your help as you'll be able to give Kazuhiko-san a good gauge of our skills." Sona explained, Nagi nodding in understanding as she replied "That's fine with me, Kaichou."

The group continued walking for a few more minutes before arriving at a large mess hall building which had a large hole in the roof and the back door was left ajar as if to entice people who wandered upon the camp site.

Saji activated his [Absorption Line] with just a thought and moved with Tsubasa towards the door to see if there was any traps nearby before the latter whispered back "It's clear."

Sona and Tsubaki nodded, the latter readying her naginata, as they and Nagi approached behind the pair before they all slipped into the mess hall.

The insides of the mess hall was covered in a myriad of cobwebs, looking more like a giant cocoon of spider's webs then an abandoned mess hall. Nagi rested a hand on the hilt of one of her katanas, ready to draw it at a moments notice as Sona spoke "It's here..."

"Kikikiki..." A sinister female voice cackled from the showers, creepy clicking coming from where the voice was as she continued "Look what has stepped into my parlour, five tasty morsels."

The group turned two furry tarantula-like legs tapping at some webbing on the wall from a dark corner and eight glowing red eyes much higher then would be expected on a normal spider. Stepping out of the shadows the Stray Devil revealed that in addition to her normal two eyes three smaller eyes was around it, much like a spider's. Her body was much like a centaur's but with a tarantula body for her lower half. Her jaw opened like an insect's pincers before blasts of webbing shot out at the group.

"Destroy the webbing." Sona ordered, creating a serpent of water to defend herself on reflect as Saji and Tsubasa shot flames at the webbing that was aimed at them. Nagi unsheathed her blade to shred the webbing aimed at her while Tsubaki did much the same with her naginata.

Saji and Tsubasa fired off more flames as they moved towards the stray, targeting a few webs on the floor with their flames to clear the way as Sona's water serpent took to the air to slice through shots of webbing that was missed by the [Rook] and [Pawn].

"Stay still little flies." The stray taunted, Tsubaki stopping her with a thin jet of water that lanced off one of its left legs before the stray devil dove to the side to attach herself to a different wall. Tsubasa didn't give the stray chance to react as she picked up a wooden table and flung it at the stray which was swiped away be her human arm before the tongue-like arm of Saji's Sacred Gear latched onto her bare chest before Saji pulled to make the stray moan as he tried to pull her in close, making her hunker down to avoid being pulled off.

Sona rose an eyebrow at her [Pawn's] action before she and Tsubaki both fired off jets of water to cleave the stray in half and end her before the Sitri heiress turned to him and asked "What was that?"

Saji flushed in embarrassment and Nagi hid her smile behind her hand after sheathing her sword.

...

"You know Kazu-sama didn't have to send us all for this hunt, right?" Diana turned from watching Tomoe Meguri happily chatted with Jessica and Samantha as they walked ahead to Rhiannon as she easily replied "I know and he does to but its safer for us to handle this as a group especially with Sitri's [Knight] along. If it was just us along he would have only had us work in pairs instead given the expected strength of these strays."

"I suppose." Rhiannon grumbled, Diana offering a small smile as she added "If it makes you feel better you can fight this one first."

"So how is Kazuhiko-sama and Rhiannon-senpai related?" Tomoe asked curiously, drawing the two dragonesses to turn back to the conversation of the trio in front as Rhiannon shot off "You should ask the people you want to know about, Meguri."

"Sorry." Tomoe replied sheepishly, Rhiannon ignoring Jessica and Diana's amused smirk as she answered the question anyway "We're cousins, by the way, my Tou-san is the younger brother of the current Lord Phenex."

"Don't mind her, Tomoe-kun. We're use to fighting strays of this level as just pairs rather then in groups like this." Jessica explained, Tomoe looking surprised as Diana added "Kazu-sama doesn't like us fighting them alone without some form of back up ready to hand."

"Who is going to back up, Rhian-san?" Samantha asked, Diana offering a small smile to her as she answered "I think it should be your turn, Sam. Remember, this stray was a [Knight] and a Werewolf so its got speed on their side."

"Al-Alright" Samantha spoke softly with a nod, changing into her [Flight Armour] before she and Rhiannon commanded "[Promotion: Knight!]"

Tomoe blinked at feeling the change in the pair as they [Promoted], her eyes widening a moment later as Rhiannon appeared in front of her with several kunai stuck in her chest as she spoke "Tch, don't lose focus now. He's arrived."

Flames erupted from her wounds and melted the kunai as Rhiannon's eyes darted around to keep track of the fast moving former werewolf as a gruff male voice spoke from around them "So a bunch of schoolgirls have been sent to deal with me?"

"It would be unwise to underestimate us, Gin. Show yourself!" Diana countered in a serious voice, a small whirlwind of wind appeared in one of the branches above them dispersing to reveal a humanoid wolf garbed in a black cloak with several kunai held between clawed fingers and a pair of katanas sheathed on his back.

"Bare witness to the only time you shall see the one to defeat you." Gin declared, Rhiannon glaring as she pointed a hand forwards and shot a blast of [Satan's Blaze] at the werewolf stray devil who disappeared in a blur of speed.

"Get down." Rhiannon ordered as she waved her hand and twirled in a circle, dozens of magic circles forming around her as she incanted "Dicentra: Asmodeus!"

Firing from the magic circles came barrages of short swords made out of the multi-coloured explosive flame of [Asmodeus], aimed at all directions to try and catch the werewolf stray as he dashed around them. The numerous explosions ripped up or destroyed the trees around them flinging them away and making the stray appear shocked in midair before Samantha leapt after him.

The greenette swung one of her swords at the werewolf, clashing with the oversized Kunai he had drawn while several normal sized ones were held in the other one and used to deflect the other sword. The pair continued to clash swords at high speed in the air before Rhiannon appeared behind him with large flaming wings with the twin flamberges of [Mammon] already swinging down to cleave the stray devil in a cross shaped slash which incinerated him in green flames.

Tomoe stared in surprise at how quick the pair had taken out the stray devil, understanding why Rhiannon thought it was overkill for all of them to attend as she looked around the ruined clearing and the remains of trees which had small flames still on them.

"Rhian, make sure to clear up your flames. We wouldn't want to burn down the forest." Diana reminded, the redhead giving a single nod once she and Samantha landed before holding a hand above her head to draw the errant flames towards her before clenching her fist to extinguish them.

...

Kazuhiko hummed as he stretched his arms above his head, his fox ears and tails on full display much to the amusement of Lucile, Hiromi and Isane at seeing how Ruruko's gaze kept drifting to the animal appendages of Kazuhiko as they walked and the lone male spoke up "So, just to remind you, this Stray Devil was a [Bishop] before and specialised in Nature Magic and making Golems. Nimura-san, I'd like you to just observe as we should be able to handle things, so keep close to me."

"Hai Bune-sama." Ruruko replied with a nod, her cheeks pink. Kazuhiko turned to the other three and added "You feel like taking the lead, Ise-san? If its alright with Himi and Luci, that is."

"Erm... That's fine with me." isane spoke with a slowly developing smile as Hiromi huffed as she retort "I suppose it would be good to see if you've improved at all."

"If Kazu-sama doesn't mind you taking the lead then its fine with me." Lucile added with a warm smile, Isane nodding as she pulled back the sleeves of the black leather jacket she was wearing over a dark red sleeveless blouse, black leather pants and knee high boots to reveal solid metal bracelets over her wrists before starting to manipulate it. The metal bracelets seemed to melt down and cover her hands before solidifying into a pair of fingerless gloves that had metal rings around her fingers from which wires started to snake out of.

Ruruko's eyes were wide as she watched all this, surprised that the female pervert was capable of manipulating metal as they started to walk once more with Isane at the front, razor thin wires moving in the air around her at the ready to cut any enemies to pieces.

The first sign of the stray devil was when ten humanoid-like figures dashed towards them from between the trees, Isane's wires lashing out quickly to slice them into pieces with a simple twitch of her fingers. The next wave of wooden constructs were shredded much the same way as they continued walking not bothered by their attempted attacks.

Kazuhiko frowned for a moment as he looked at the twitching pieces of wood before holding his hand out to the side as he spoke up "Looks like they are going to reform if not totally destroyed...Will-O-Wisp: Storm."

A dozen crimson red fireballs shot away from the brunet's hands destroying the pieces of wood around them before floating above the group in an eerie display of lights as he added "I'll handle destroying the pieces left over, you three can focus on whatever is sent our way."

Nods were given in response as the quintet started to move again before another, much larger group of wooden constructs leap at them only to be shredded by Isane's wires and then incinerated by Kazuhiko's flames.

'They look like they've fought together before.' Ruruko thought amazed as the group. Sona had wanted her to observe them fight and see if there was anything she could learn from them.

"A Rock Golem?" Lucile commented surprised, gaining Ruruko's attention at the ten foot tall golem that was lumbering towards them.

"My wires should be able to handle that..." Isane spoke with a fanged smirk before dashing forwards, her wires circling around her to act as a shield before dozens lashed out at the stone fist. They wrapped around the limb to halt its progress, tightening more as Isane sharpened them so they could turn the stone limb was turned into chunks. The Golem was unphased as it threw its other arm at the demonic vampire, Isane throwing an arm out to the side as she manipulated the wires to gather around the limb as she jumped at the construct.

When the wires had finished to gather and form, Isane had a spiked gauntlet covering her left arm which aided her to destroy the golem's head with a swift punch. Isane landed on the golem's shoulders before frowning annoyed at how the golem was still standing before she had to jump to avoid several stone spikes jutting out under her feet as a sneering male voice was heard "You think destroying my pet is as simple as removing its head. What sort of simpleton do you expect me becoming a Stray made me?"

"Stray Devil Landon, hand yourself in or face judgement." Kazuhiko spoke up turning his gaze to a giant pointed rock sticking out of the ground on their right as Isane landed gracefully next to him. Landon was a tall skinny man with marble coloured skin, pointed ears, dirty brown hair and was wearing a pair of tan slacks with a rather rock-like upper body and arms.

"Hahaha! You think you can kill me? I've become one with the very nature around us..." Landon retorted, Kazuhiko frowning as his wisps of flames quickly shot through Landon, leaving large holes in his body before it seemingly melting into the rock below him as the golem's head and arm started to reform and his voice cackled from around them "Do you see? I am immortal!"

"How are we going to find this stray?" Ruruko asked nervously, Kazuhiko frowning as he looked around before giving orders "Luci, Himi, promote yourselves to [Knight] send Landon skywards when you can. I'll direct you to where he is while Isane handles the Golem. Nimura-san stay close to me."

"[Promotion: Knight!]" Hiromi and Lucile both declared with nods before the latter added "[Soul Merge: Kappa!]"

Ruruko watched surprised as Lucile changed in front of her before Isane drew her attention as she spoke "I'm gonna need some of your go juice when we finish here, Kazu-kun."

"That's fine." Kazuhiko replied, closing his eyes so he could focus on his [Senjutsu] to be able to sense out where Landon was while Isane smirked before forming an identical gauntlet on her other arm and a pair of knee high boots on her legs from more wires before leaping at the golem.

A dozen versions of Landon appeared around them looking to be made out of the nearby nature, some made out of stone like the form they had first saw while others looked made out of wood or even grass and soil before they charged at the quartet. Lucile quickly created a pair of oversized water kunai roughly the size of short swords while Hiromi covered both of her hands in a giant pair of water claws before they moved to attack the decoys around them.

The stone golem's head was destroyed once more by Isane's gauntlet clad fist before spinning to lash out a backwards spin kick, the boot turning into a sharp blade to split the hand that had tried to grab her before changing back so she could land gracefully on the golem's neck for a moment before leaping into the air. She somersaulted in the air as she focused her magic to make the metal boot on her right leg grow thicker and heavier before falling in a vicious axe kick down onto the reforming head of the stone golem, splitting its whole body down the middle due to the force and cracks that formed from the attack.

'I guess Kaa-san had a point with her training.' Isane thought as she returned her gauntlets and greaves into their original wire-like state. Her mother had insisted on her learning martial arts despite her original training with Kazuhiko being more weapon based by using her [Metal Manipulation], saying that a Vampire's true power came from the strength of their body and only Werewolves, their enemies, had similar potential outside of the Pantheon Factions - Christian, Hindi, Greco-Roman, Egyptian, Shinto, etc.

Shaking her head free of those thoughts, the brunette kept her attention on the two halves of the golem expecting it to start pulling itself back together, even as Lucile and Hiromi was cutting through the copies of Landon before Kazuhiko shouted "Twenty feet, eleven o'clock."

Lucile and Hiromi dashing in that direction with their [Knight] enhanced speed, the former starting the assault by using one of her large kunai to cut through Landon's legs before Hiromi pierced the stray through the chest with one of her water claws and flung him skywards.

Landon's eyes widened as he saw a giant serpent dragon made out of crimson-red [Storm Flames] fly towards him, its mouth opening wide to consume the stray devil and fully disintegrated him. The constructs around them dropped to the ground like their strings had been cut, Ruruko sighed in relief as the few that had gotten close to her dropping before turning at hearing a erotic moan from Isane.

Her face reddened at seeing Isane sucking on Kazuhiko's neck, presumably getting her drink of blood, and the noises made by the brunette half vampire.

...

The next morning saw Kazuhiko take his seat in class as he pondered over what he had learnt from Martina and Nagi about the fights their groups had with their assigned stray devil. Martina had told him that Akeno had jumped to the wrong conclusion about who her Fallen Angel parent was just due to the fact she could use [Holy Lightning] and had briefly covered her own past. Rias, on the other hand, hadn't adapted to being classed as a [Pawn] as she hadn't bothered to use her [Promotion] ability even as Martina had to deal the 'kill shot' because Rias hadn't put the power into her own attack.

Nagi had also told Sona about how her mother met Lord Sitri as well as how he had helped them develop their styles and the fact he had created a 'Danger Room' of sorts for them all to gain experience and test themselves. Sona's group had dealt with the stray better with Nagi only having to work to defend herself.

Daphne had also passed on to him that Momo was able to hold up the barrier they used to keep the strays contained in the camping area fairly easily and probably had some ties to a family of Magicians given her current level.

'I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if Sona-san approaches me to help make something similar for her group.' Kazuhiko thought, absently rubbing his healed neck and catching Isane talking to Murayama and Katase with a thoughtful look as he mentally added 'Or that Sona-san expects that Ise-san to join my peerage after what Nimura-san probably reported back to her yesterday although neither of us had said anything about it.'

"No way... So you two got dates from a pair of guys yesterday after school?" Isane spoke surprised, Kazuhiko lifting his gaze to catch her eye as she continued to ask "Who were they? What'd they look like? Were they hot?"

"Well, Donnie definitely is in the dark and mysterious way." Katase started with a blush, Murayama nodding as she added "Viktor was as well, in the bad boy sort of way. And they're both older then us."

"Really?" Isane asked with a raised eyebrow, getting a nod from the pair as Katase answered "They're college students from another college in Kuoh and wanted to go out with us after seeing how we did at the last inter-school meet for the Kendo club."

At hearing that, Kazuhiko thought that was a pretty good backstory to explain why they approached them now, especially as the last inter-school meet for Kendo had been a month or so before last year's exams and that could be used to explain the delay as he thought 'If I didn't pick up the faint Fallen Angel scent lingering on them from probably meeting the two this morning I'd probably believe it was just normal. They must have moved when we were dealing with the strays which means they are trying to hide their actions from us in line with sneaking in. Just need to see if they are going to try and recruit them or attack them now.'

As class started soon after, Kazuhiko was thinking over how to safely watch over the two girls during the date they had that weekend which preceded the arrival of the Church group into Kuoh.

...

"They shouldn't be doing this..." Martina spoke with a frown after Isane and Kazuhiko and relayed what they had learnt from Murayama and Katase, "Standard procedure is to not interact with the target for observation unless its to do with recruiting and that's only for those with awakened Sacred Gears."

"So they aren't following Azazel's orders then. What do we do then?" Hiromi questioned with a huff, Kazuhiko humming in thought as Rhiannon suggested with a shrug "Catch them in the act, maybe?"

"Considering that they aren't coming close to the school it would be hard to capture them beforehand, it may be the only way without causing an incident with Grigori." Lucile spoke up with a shake of her head, Diana nodding as she added "We can't launch a preemptive strike for that reason and I'm not sure Katase-san or Murayama-san would believe us without proof that the Fallen are out to attack them when we don't even know that is true."

"So what do we do? We can't let them risk get attacked." Samantha spoke worried, Daphne speaking up after a moment of thought "We try and turn this double date into a triple."

"What?" Kazuhiko asked surprised, not noticing the girls perk up around him as Daphne explained "If we convince them that one of us is trying to date Kazu-kun or even the date is some sort of reward, if we go with Ise-san's idea of us being his bodyguards, we can keep an eye on the two Fallen without them being able to refuse. Of course at some point, we'll split off but Kazu-kun and the girl on the date can then split up and keep an eye on them still and step in before an attack can happen."

"That... That's a really good idea. But who'd be the one to go with Kazu-kun?" Jessica asked with a slight frown, Kazuhiko gulping as he felt like a fight was about to start up as he pointed out "It's probably best that someone close to them asks otherwise it would seem too weird especially if I have to go ask them about this."

"That would mean its either myself or Isane-san." Nagi spoke up, Rhiannon scowling as she asked "Why are you including Isane into this, she's not even part of the peerage?"

"She's known the two for over a year at least. She's also strong enough to handle herself as the Stray Devil and the few spars we've had with her showed." Nagi answered concisely, "Her and Kazu-sama on a date would make sense easily, especially if it was for the purpose of reacquainting themselves."

"In the same line, Nagi and Kazu-kun would make sense given Nagi can pass it off as a reward for something she's done and, as part of the Kendo Club, she's spent more time around them then the rest of us aside from Ise-san." Daphne added with a pointed look to the grumbling Rhiannon had to admit the pair was right.

"As much as I know I can trust Ise-san to help out for this... I think it would be better for Nagi to do this with me." Kazuhiko answered, after thinking about it. Diana nodding in understanding as she added "The [Evil Piece] does give her a natural boost and her speed will help her intercept any attack that may happen."

"Maybe we should have a group on the ready to act against those in the church?" Samantha suggested, Hiromi nodding as she agreed "Sam's right. If they act to attack them, we can safely assume that its the whole group whose gone rogue and need to be stopped before they can act."

"Plus it would avoid a potential blood bath if the Church representatives show up next week and try and settle into the church that's already occupied. Otherwise, we'll just have to warn them beforehand about it and help set them up with alternate housing." Martina pointed out, Kazuhiko nodding in agreement as he spoke "We'll sort out who is part of that team later but they'll have to aim for subduing and capture. Its a good point you've raised, Sam."

Samantha blushed and ducked her head slightly at the praise, Kazuhiko looking to see if anyone had anything else to share before he continued the meeting "Alright. Next this is about Asia-san's training... So, how is it going?"

Kazuhiko looked to Daphne and Lucile for an answer as they had lead the training of the exiled nun. The pair sharing a smile before the latter spoke "She's taken quite well to the enhancement and defensive magic we're teaching her but can only cast it by touch by using her [Sacred Gear] as a focus in the former. We've made a start of 'status effect' removal spells but they are best tested on a live target who suffers from the state you're trying to cure."

"Her [Twilight Healing] has also showed beginning signs of evolving in some way but that's only the rings becoming a bit bigger with more noticeable cross underneath the jewels." Daphne added with a shrug, "Not sure what will change with it and we'd probably need the Governor to look it over before Asia-chan discovers it instead."

"That's good. Maybe once this has all calmed down we could arrange something." Martina suggested to Kazuhiko approval as he nodded in agreement before turning things to the next topic, "Alright. Last topic for today is about contracts... I know we've only started them recently but we'll probably fill in a bit of a void made by the merging of the two original groups here although Sona is bound to have a boost if Rias' peerage's former clients learnt about the change in flyer and stick with their former summons."

"So far, we've only had a few come in but it seems mostly to be everyday chores people need help with. Babysitting, cooking, exercising. That sort of stuff." Diana started to explain, Kazuhiko nodding in understanding as she continued "We've had a few lewd and creepy requests as well but refused them given their nature. As we've just started making contracts we don't have an client base that we could have had at Kuoh High but it'll grow the more we succeed with them. Rykeoss-sama has made it a formal rule for us to not hand out leaflets to students or teachers of either schools so we can avoid getting ousted."

"That makes a lot of sense and its a good thing for us to go slow so we can get use to the work." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, thankful for his grandmother thinking of something he hadn't especially as he hadn't been called for a contract yet. With that topic having been covered, Kazuhiko called the meeting to a close as he had a lesson with Yasaka to get to.

...

"To wield [Touki] you must become use to channelling your natural [Ki] around your body to strengthen it. The escaping bits of energy is what creates the aura which becomes an armour for the user." Yasaka explained as she stood in front of where Kunou was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed while Kazuhiko stood nearby with his fox features on display.

"Unlike the basics of [Senjutsu] that focus on drawing in Chakra from outside and using that to influence the world around you, [Touki] is primarily a supportive art that focuses on increasing the user's strength, speed, toughness and even reflexes to a higher level." Yasaka continued to explain, Kazuhiko glad for the reminder about the basics he had been training with over the their lessons for the week.

"Okaa-sama, why can't I watch you and Kazu-niisan spar instead?" Kunou asked with a pout, opening an eye to look at her mother who looked seriously back as she answered "You must learn to do it as second nature and not get distracted by things around you. These lessons will help you work with your [Senjutsu] in your later lessons when you work to filter the malice from the Chakra you take in."

Kunou closed her eyes as she started with her practice while Kazuhiko grimaced slightly as he had skipped several training steps to learn [Senjutsu] because of the worries that the built up malice inside of him would have caused him to go berserk or feral before they learnt the effect his [Sky Flames] had on himself. As such, Kazuhiko had only learnt the basics of [Ki Manipulation] in the form of both [Ki] blasts and close ranged attacks that affected the opponent's spirit and so he was use to channelling [Ki] to his hands or feet rather then his whole body which was what was needed for [Touki] as children of Kunou's age were first taught to ensure they had a proper control over their [Ki]. Most training with Yasaka had been in [Youjutsu] which also relied on the user's internal supply of [Ki] to form spells that fit into either attack, defence or illusions as he had to learn numerous symbols to even create a spell as well as ordering to ensure the right effect occurred and had taken him a while to translate his [Vongola Flames] to work within [Youjutsu] although he didn't use it often due to his [Devil Magic] being more versatile and easier to use.

"Now... I'm sure you've practised a lot with this Kazu-kun but we need to ensure you can use it like its second nature to you." Yasaka spoke as she turned to face Kazuhiko, getting a nod from him as he slipped into a ready stance. Yasaka kept her hands folded in front of her as she added "We'll begin when you've activated your [Touki]."

Kazuhiko closed his eyes for a moment to start circulating his [Ki] around his body, letting his eyes open as a pale blue-white thin aura flared around his body. A slight frown marred his face as he tried to keep his focus on working his [Ki] even as Yasaka dashed forwards at a speed he could just about keep track off as he ducked under the palm strike that had been aimed at his head, his aura faltering for a moment, before throwing a punch at her stomach.

Kazuhiko winced as his fist was caught in her hand which was covered in a pure gold aura of [Touki] and feeling that he had just tried to punch a mountain before he withdrew his arm and cross them to block Yasaka's next palm strike which sent him skidding back as his [Touki] failed.

"Darn..." Kazuhiko grumbled as he shook his arms to try and avoid the numbness from setting in before taking a calming breathe to restart his [Touki], not noticing that it felt easier for him tap into it for the second time. Charging forwards, the brunet launched a front kick at Yasaka's waist which she caught before twisting and using the hold on his leg to spin his other leg up to launch a kick at her face which she lent back to avoid before getting a tail slap to her face which made her let go of his foot.

Yasaka hid her smile as she watched Kazuhiko balance himself on his hands, having noticed that his aura was starting to flicker less and settle, and knew the longer they sparred for the easier he would find to use it as she blocked a windmill kick he had lashed out with. She had quickly come to realise along with Tatsumi and Rykeoss that Kazuhiko favoured practical learning rather then theoretical when training due to the basis of [Devil Magic] being imagination based and how he had sought to train himself before. Oh, he could understand the theory behind what he was being taught but preferred to see them in practice when he tested them himself.

The pair continued to spar, Yasaka only flaring her [Touki] over the limbs she needed at the time while Kazuhiko's continued to smooth out and grow thicker as he became more use to splitting his attention between circulating his [Ki] and sparring with Yasaka, who slowly raised the level of power she was using against him until he was exhausted half an hour later but hadn't lost his [Touki] for the last ten minutes of it although it had wavered at times.

"Now tried a [Ki] attack." Yasaka ordered, Kazuhiko jumping back and cupping his hands separately to draw power into them before firing off several beams of [Ki] at the blonde Kyuubi who deflected or blocked each of them.

"See how much easier you can draw on your [Ki] now that you have the basics of [Touki] down." Yasaka pointed out with a smile as Kazuhiko looked surprised at his hands as his [Touki] dispersed before he bowed to her and replied "Thank you, Yasaka-san."

...

Kazuhiko stood in the entrance way as he waited for Nagi to arrive, checking over his own appearance that consisted of black jeans, an orange t-shirt and a dark blue hooded jacket with white tennis shoes on his feet.

Nagi had been successful with convince the two girls that Kazuhiko had wanted to treat her for a job well done as one of his bodyguards and asked if they could accompany them on their double date and make it a triple as it would be Nagi's first. Donnie and Viktor had been irked by it but caved in when Murayama and Katase had put their feet down and commented that it would be more fun as a group.

"Can you sense any of my aura?" Kazuhiko asked as he glanced to Diana and Isane, the latter having come over to spend some time training with the group as the former shook her head "Just a faint inkling that you're not human."

"Good." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, looking to the group that was with the pair as he added "Remember, wait for my signal before launching your attack on the group in the church and subdue only and then we'll send them back to Grigori once Nagi and I have captured the other two. Martina-san, can go with them so you can explain things to your Sensei about what happened?"

"I'm fine with that." Martina spoke with a nod, with her, Diana and Isane were Rhiannon and Jessica who had also agreed to the job while Daphne, Hiromi, Lucile and Samantha would tutor Asia in Japanese for when she started school the next week while his grandparents watched and helped when they needed to.

Sona had been accepting of letting the young blonde join the school given that Asia would need to learn and have a normal life since having left the Church. Plus it wouldn't be good for her to live in the home when she can make new friends despite whatever the Fallen Angels in town had planned with her, if they didn't attack Murayama and Katase today. Either way, Kazuhiko was sure they could arrange for one of the girls to stay with Asia if she went out with friends she made.

"Kazu-sama?" Nagi spoke as she walked towards her [King]. She was dressed in a simple ocean blue sundress that fell just shy of her knees with white frill around the bust and hem of the skirt and wide straps with a dark purple cardigan left unbuttoned over the top and a small black handbag on a thin strap over her left shoulder. Her hair was still in its high ponytail and a pair of white ankle socks were on her feet while she carried a pair of blue and white converse in one hand.

"You look great, Nagi." Kazuhiko spoke with a smile, Nagi crouching down to pull on her shoes as she smiled at him in thanks before asking "Thank you. Shall we head out to meet the others?"

"Alright." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, Nagi latching onto his arm as they turned to leave as Isane added "Next date is with me, Kazu-kun, and then you can start taking out the others."

A few surprised looks were given to the brunette before Martina and Diana started to chuckle in agreement while Nagi pulled Kazuhiko outside so they could go to meet Murayama and Katase in town.

...

Kazuhiko silently sighed as he gently landed on a tree branch, his whole body covered in [Mist Flames] which he was using with his [Senjutsu] to form an illusion that concealed even his aura to avoid being spotted by 'Viktor' or Murayama. The date had been fun, even with Kazuhiko and Nagi having to suppress their auras and he was pretty sure he hadn't been found out by the two Fallen Angels.

Viktor was five foot eleven and looked much like a 'bad boy' as he was dressed in a pair of leather pants, maroon tank top and a leather jacket with biker boots on his feet. His jet black hair was wildly spiked in several gravity defying spikes and grey eyes.

Murayama had dressed in a white sundress that had blue ribbon bordering the bust of it while a band of pale yellow ran along the bottom of the skirt that fell to mid-thigh. A brown belt was wrapped around her waist while pastel pink thigh high socks covered her legs and brown buckled shoes on her feet while a darker pink jacket was worn on top of it all and her hair was kept in its usual twin tails with white ribbons holding them in place.

"It was pretty fun today, wasn't it?" Murayama spoke with a smile as Viktor walked ahead of her towards the fountain in the middle of the park, turning to face his date as the sun started to set behind him.

"Hey Mura-chan..." Viktor started with a charming smile, drawing the brunette's gaze to him and a dusting of pink to her cheeks as she asked "Yes, Viktor-kun?"

"How about we do something to celebrate our first date?" Viktor suggested, Murayama's blush darkening as she asked "Wh-What sort of thing...?"

A dark smirk formed on Viktor's lips as a pair of black feathered wings erupted from his back as he uttered "Will you die for me, Mura-chan?"

"W-Why...?" Murayama asked shocked and fearful as Viktor drew back his arm and a poisonous green light spear appeared in his grip as he added in an unapologetic tone "The short time I spent with you was fun, it was like playing house with a little girl."

Murayama stared in fear as Viktor threw the spear, both of them surprised as Kazuhiko appeared in front of Murayama with [Touki] covering his body as his hand snapped up to catch the spear that had been aimed at Murayama's chest while the remnants of [Mist Flames] littered the ground around him.

"Kazu-kun!?" Murayama spoke surprised, Kazuhiko letting out a relieved sigh as he saw his [Touki] was stopping the light spear from burning his skin as Viktor snarled "Tch. I knew you and that girl inviting themselves along would cause trouble... Which bitch's peerage are you a part of, Gremory or Sitri?"

"Really?" Kazuhiko asked surprised, shattering the spear with a clench of his hand as he retorted "You haven't been keeping up with the news then, Viktor. I'm Kazuhiko Bune, new co-governor of this town and you and your group are trespassing."

"Bune?" Viktor snorted, unaware that the clan was no longer considered extinct, as he started to snicker before forming a jagged light spear as he spoke "Don't lie to me brat. No part Yokai would be an heir to an extinct clan. Screw it, I'll kill you both."

"Don't worry, Murayama-san." Kazuhiko spoke as he let his fox features emerge, Murayama blushed at the sight as the indigo flames merged together to form a copy of the brunet as he added "Just stay next to him and you'll be fine."

Murayama nodded before Kazuhiko disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving a small crater in the ground before shocking Viktor by appearing in front of him and performing a similar manoeuvre to how he stopped Diodora slammed a [Senjutsu] enhanced palm strike into Viktor's stomach, through the light spear that he attempted to use to block. Viktor coughed up a small spurt of blood as he bent forwards, collapsing soon afterwards as he gave into unconsciousness.

'Good thing I pulled back on that punch... I still haven't gotten use to the boost [Touki] gives me.' Kazuhiko thought as he disperse the aura and relaxed before covering the Fallen Angel in [Rain Flames] to ensure he stayed unconscious.

...

Author's Note

First things first, Isane's fighting style is a mixture of Hellsing Ultimate's Walter and Akame Ga Kill's Lubbock. Also I figure between Kazuhiko and his grandfather they could create a 'Danger Room' style basement to recreate such scenarios for their training which I'll probably show off at some point. Not sure if I'm going to come up with my own arc for once the Raynare arc is done or just have one or two filler chapters before jumping into the Kokabiel arc at the moment so might take a while to work that out.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm glad this whole story is getting a great reaction, here's the next chapter. Had some trouble with working out how to explain things to Murayama and Katase but overall I think it goes well. As for their Sacred Gears while they might seem rather basic, I'm thinking of having the pair being Hero Descendants although from who I'm not sure yet and may have to scour the fate-verse wiki to pick someone for each if I go down this route.

...

Murayama looked at Kazuhiko as she sat on the edge of the fountain, her gaze shifting from the brunet who saved her to Viktor who was still lying on the floor. The former of the pair dispersed a magic circle by his ear before he spoke to the worried Murayama, "Katase-san is fine. Nagi started in before 'Donnie' could hurt her and knocked him out."

"Why did they attack us though?" Murayama asked concerned, Kazuhiko offering her a reassuring smile as he answered "I'll explain when Katase-san is here... but first..."

Another magic circle appeared next to Kazuhiko's ear as he sent off the signal to the group to assault the church as Murayama asked "What is that one about?"

"These two aren't working alone and they have a group operating in the local church. Kazu-sama was just alerting some of the others to go about capturing them so we can send them back to their bosses." Nagi spoke as she walked into the park, Katase walking nearby while a middle aged man in a trench coat was slung over the [Knight's] shoulder with various cuts at important joints over his body.

"That's right." Kazuhiko agreed with a nod as Murayama and Katase shared confused and worried looks before he turned his attention onto his [Mist Flame] clone as he instructed "Take these two to the church."

The clone nodded as it moved to grab the two Fallen Angels before leaving the park.

...

Diana frowned as a magic circle appeared before her eyes and released a small pulse of power before she turned to the others of her group from where they were waiting in an alley out of sight. She turned to Martina, Isane, Rhiannon, Jessica and Samantha, a late addition of her own choice so they could avoid people escaping, before she spoke "We've got the go ahead to start clearing out the church."

"Right." The quintet replied with nods before Jessica asked "Are ya gonna use that instead of your Destruction powers?"

Diana nodded despite the confused look Isane gave her as she explained "My Kaa-san was also from the [Dantalion Clan] so I can use Shadows and Darkness Magic like her. I haven't gotten to the level where I can easily combine the two powers to allow me to destroy just what I want to or even able to create [Power of Destruction] attacks through other people's shadows like Kaa-san... but I have a good control of both powers individually."

"What's the plan?" Rhiannon asked, Diana looking over the church before she explained "First things first, Sam will create a barrier over the whole church to prevent their escape with her Runes. Once that's done, Rhian and Jess will lead when we storm inside and you'll work to subdue the stray exorcists that are there with Isane. Martina and I will fight the Fallen Angels there seeing as I can only sense two of them."

"I'm not sure how well the barrier will hold with my Runes." Samantha commented, Isane offering a reassuring smile as she pointed out "It only has to stop the stray exorcists from leaving, Sam-chan."

"That's right. You can use it with your swords if you want to add an extra level of defence, just in case." Martina added, Samantha nodding in understanding as she started to run through the series she would need to apply at each point of the barrier while absently using her Sacred Gear to conjure an elegant looking short sword with a purple, shield-like guard. She ran her flat palm against the flat of the blade and watched as emerald green runes glowed into life over the blade before looking to the others as she nodded "I'm ready."

At Diana's nod, Samantha quickly donned her [Flight Armour] before shooting forwards with a burst of speed as she ran around the church planting her newly created [Barrier Swords] into the ground at five points before the beginnings of a hexagonal barrier of green energy formed up over the church. She stopped at the front with a single short sword still in her hands as she turned to her approaching friends before adding "Once I put the last sword in the barrier will be complete and I can only pull it down by removing or destroying the swords, I think."

"Good job." Diana spoke with a nod as lead the others inside of the opening of the barrier, knowing that those inside would sense the barrier coming up even before Samantha stabbed the last sword into the ground to close it up.

"Let's make ourselves known." Rhiannon spoke with a smirk as she casually walked towards the front of the church, Jessica rolling her eyes at the redhead before hurrying after her while the remaining trio walked calmly after them.

Diana frowned as Jessica punched the doors off their hinges, resting a hand on her hip as she retorted seriously "Let's not cause too much damage to the church otherwise the Church representatives are going to be pissed at us."

"Ah. Sorry." Jessica apologised sheepishly despite the group of stray exorcists that were standing inside staring at them.

"Get them!" One shouted, dozens of pistols being pointed at them girls before they started to fire light bullets at them which were blocked by Isane creating a metal plate out of her wires meshing together. Rhiannon shot an unamused look at the brunette before stepping out a hand covered in silver [Leviathan Flames] as she spoke "Fire Dragon: Leviathan."

A long and whip-like dragon shot forth from Rhiannon's flames even as long shadowy arms sprung up from the stray exorcists' shadows and knocking their guns away for the dragon to freeze over and render them useless while Jessica charged at them and used her fists to knock them out, not even bothering to activate her Sacred Gear.

"What's all the racket!?" A angry female voice called from the staircase that showed under the moved altar, a raven haired young woman in a revealing leather outfit that was not much more then a bikini, thigh high boots and opera length gloves flying out with a single pair of black feathered wings extended before her violet eyes went wide.

"Devils!?" Raynare snarled, only to have to quickly conjure a light spear as Martina took to the air on her mismatched wings and charged forwards with a simple light sword in her hands as she spoke "Surrender. You're intruding on devil territory."

"Like I'd listen to a traitor." Raynare sneered back, spinning her spear before swinging at Martina so their weapons clashed in mid-air while Isane turned the metal plate into dozens of marble sized projectiles which she launched at the remaining exorcists.

"Ray! There's a barrier up over the church." A mature female voice called from the backdoor. The owner stood at about five foot nine with a mature figure hugged by a maroon, trench coat like top with a wide collar that showed off a lot of cleavage, a matching miniskirt, and black heeled shoes. She had yellow eyes and long dark blue hair with a long fringe that partly covered her right eye.

A dozen hands of darkness moved to grab Kalawarner from behind, making the bluenette fly forwards and take to the air to avoid more before Diana took to the air to intercept her before she could become a problem for Martina.

"Dark Arm Blades." Diana intoned as she lifted the darkness blades to block the light spear that Kalawarner tried to strike her with before the bluenette retorted "You've made a mistake attacking us, devils."

"You're the one who went and attacked our schoolmates just cause they had Sacred Gears." Diana countered coldly, Kalawarner flinching back as Raynare sneered loudly "You expect us to believe that!?"

"I've already captured the pair who tried to attack them." Kazuhiko's voice echoed through the room. Raynare and Kalawarner turned to see him standing in front of the doors with two indigo coloured limbs coming from his back which held Viktor and Dohnaseek, both unconscious.

"Viktor! Dohnaseek!" The pair of Fallen Angels called shocked by the twin voices of their original opponents "Stupefy!"

Twin streaks of red light struck the pair, knocking them unconscious before they were caught by Diana's darkness limbs while the remaining exorcists were knocked out by the same magic spell from Jessica and Rhiannon.

"Wha...? You lot learn spells from [Harry Potter]?" Isane asked amazed after finishing knocking out her opponents, Jessica smirking as she nodded and answered "They're among the basics for the peerage now. Diana and Daph' came up with most of them after Kazu once used a 'stunner' on that mind controlled guy the stray was using as a shield."

"It does help saving time for our care as well." Rhiannon retorted, absently glancing to where the [Mist Flame] illusion of Kazuhiko was putting the two males onto the magic circle Martina had created on the floor of the church.

"Check the underground floor, you two. We need to make sure we didn't leave anyone still here." Diana ordered, Rhiannon and Jessica sharing a nod as they moved to the steps were Raynare had emerged from and descended to the floor below.

...

"So..." Kazuhiko started as he changed into his pyjamas, trying to ignore Diana striping next to him as they prepared for bed. It was her turn to share his bed and she'd convinced the girls that there wasn't a need for a meeting after stopping the Fallen Angels' plan aside from him and Nagi telling them that the girls were safe.

"We managed to subdue the stray exorcists and other two members of the group fairly easily." Diana started just using magic to strip off her battle uniform and leave her nude aside from a pair of lacy violet panties, "Sam-chan's rune work is getting better as she brought up the barrier easily once she set her swords up around the church grounds and worked out the sequence she'd need."

"That's good." Kazuhiko spoke as he pulled on a set of pyjamas, turning to Diana with a smile before blushing and averting his gaze at the sight of her breasts as he asked "Was there any issues?"

"Only one." Diana started with a frown at recalling what Rhiannon and Jessica had found under the church as she continued "There was a prototype Sacred Gear Extractor under the church."

"What!?" Kazuhiko spoke shocked as he gave an asking look if she was serious, Diana nodding as she answered "They didn't know what it was when we first found it but once Martina had went with them to Grigori and told Barakiel about it a group of Fallen came back with her to check it over before removing it."

"Damn..." Kazuhiko thought aloud, tapping his chin with a finger before he muttered "Why do I get the feeling they were going to use that on Asia-san...?"

"With them knowing her Sacred Gear..." Diana mused with a frown, "She was most likely the one they would use it on. Such a potent healing power teamed with the larger reserves a Fallen Angel could have and willingness to fight would have would made whoever had it a more dangerous opponent."

"You're right. Plus I wouldn't have been surprised that Diodora hadn't made a deal with them before the tournament to help ensure Asia-san's loyalty to him after losing her Sacred Gear." Kazuhiko agreed with a disgusted look at the thought, jolting slightly as his [Queen] hugged him and easily pulled his head into her cleavage.

"You stopped that plan the moment you revealed Diodora's true nature to the world." Diana spoke with an indulgent smile as she heard a small purr from Kazuhiko as she scratched at the base of his fox ears. The raven haired beauty knew that her [King's] fox ears was one of his weaknesses and enjoyed using it when they were alone, something that had been agreed with the whole peerage when they had found out about it, lest his brain got turned to blissful mush and so stopped after the minute she spent pulling him into bed so they were on their sides facing each other.

Kazuhiko shot her a stern look as he pulled his head free once his thoughts returned, Diana's smile growing slightly at how his hands was still around her waist as she asked "How do you think Murayama and Katase are coping with what happened?"

Kazuhiko's face softened at the question as he recalled how he and Nagi had walked their pair back to their houses and reassured the pair that he would explain things tomorrow after school. A part of him had wanted to explain things there and then but he was worried that too many shocks in the same evening would have a bad effect on them and managed to convince the pair to hold their questions till tomorrow as they wouldn't be targeted at least in the short term.

"I think they took it well..." Kazuhiko started with a thoughtful look, "I managed to calm them both down with Nagi's help and convince them to hold their questions for tomorrow after school but I imagine we'll have a lot of questions to answer especially with a day to think on what they want to ask."

"Hopefully, if things go well we can set about unlocking their Sacred Gears so I can figure out how to help them train the rest of the week." Kazuhiko added, getting an agreeing nod from Diana before she pushed him onto his back and draped herself over him so she could sleep comfortably as she added her last thought on the subject "Maybe you could ask Masaomi-san to help train them, it would take his mind off having to worry about Cleria-san's pregnancy now that its in its second trimester."

Kazuhiko nodded absently at that idea, wondering if he could convince the former exorcist to train them like he did with Nagi when the man was worried about his wife and the twins she was carrying.

...

Monday morning saw Sona Sitri standing near the gates as she observed the arrival of the students of the school, her mind working over what she had been contemplating over the remainder of the last week since learning of the special room Kazuhiko Bune had helped create specifically for his and his peerage's training. The idea was sound as it obviously allowed the Bune peerage to gain experience without risking danger or having to rely on sparring with each other or strays being in the vicinity.

'He'd probably become rich just from going around installing such systems into the Pillar Clans' homes if they wanted such a thing to help train the next generation of heirs and heiresses and their peerages. Such a training room would have been a great boon to Rias as well for her to master her [Power of Destruction].' Sona mused as she absently noted that Murayama and Katase were arriving with Nagi, Samantha and Isane. She could tell that the former pair were still human meaning that the Fallen Angels had probably not been successful with whatever they had been planning as she mentally added to her list to ask Kazuhiko what had happened over the weekend.

Kazuhiko arrived soon after with Diana, Hiromi and the blonde she recognised from the tournament to be Asia Argento, who was now dressed in the Kuoh Academy uniform but with a navy sleeveless jumper on top.

'His illusion of her was spot on so that speaks of his skill and eye for detail.' Sona absently thought as the quartet approached with Kazuhiko being the first to speak "Good morning Kaichou."

"Good morning, Yuuki-san." Sona replied, greeting Diana and Hiromi next before turning her gaze onto Asia as she asked "I take it that this is our new student?"

"Asia Argento, Kaichou-san." Asia spoke with a nervous bow, Sona nodding in greeting before glancing around to see if anyone was nearby before fixing her gaze on Kazuhiko as she asked "I'd like it if I could have the chance to observe this 'danger room' of yours and see if we can arrange some sort of deal for you to create one for myself and my peerage to use."

"Hmm... I suppose its fine to show you. You can bring your peerage as well, if you want. We can do it today but I've still got to run through the explanation for the wider world for Murayama-san and Katase-san after their club activities so would be easier to do it after that." Kazuhiko answered after a moment of thought, Sona nodding as she replied "That would be acceptable. If you wish I can even assist with explaining things to them."

"I think I should be alright... I've seen Baasan do it a few times before but wouldn't say no to help in case I forgot something." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, Sona offering a small smile before they parted ways with Kazuhiko leading Asia to the teacher's lounge so they could find out which class she was in.

...

Asia Argento nervously waited to be called into class, a part of her glad that she was in Kazuhiko's class as she had heard nothing but good things from the girls and even knew he was a kind soul as he helped her at times with her Japanese as well as training her when he wasn't busy with matters in regards to his Clan or contracts. The gentle blonde took a moment to silently pray that things would go well for her first day at school while also remembering that Kazuhiko wanted her to avoid talking to Murayama and Katase about the supernatural as they hadn't been told anything.

"Please come in." She heard from the doorway, turning to see the old teacher she had met earlier was smiling reassuringly to her before waving her inside as she turned to address the class.

"Class, we have a new student today." Asia entered the classroom as the teacher spoke, smiling at the class and the enthusiasm of the males aside from Kazuhiko was just offered her a reassuring smile and a small nod.

"Hello. I'm Argento Asia. Please look after me as I'm feeling bit of a fish out of water." Asia spoke with a bow, glad she had gotten the Japanese right even if she had a good enough grasp on it according to the girls and Kazuhiko.

"Cute~" One of the guys spoke, others quickly agreeing with him as they loudly commented about her appearance and the [Perverted Trio] blurting out embarrassed comments that saw them getting glared at by the girls.

Kazuhiko was relieved that Asia hadn't mentioned about living with him as it would just fuel the rumour mill of the school, especially with most of the guys already not liking him due to being surrounded by the girls of his peerage during the breaks. The teacher pointed Asia to a seat next to Murayama and Katase which helped Kazuhiko feeling confident that she would be looked after and not have to deal with the antics of the [Perverted Trio]: Matsuda, Motohama and Daisuke, the latter who reminded him of Riser due to his arrogant belief that he could get any girl despite hearing tales from the rest of the student body about how often he failed by making insulting or sexist comments.

...

'So, now is the time to finally learn everything about why Donnie and Viktor toyed with our feelings and attacked us.' Murayama thought as she slid her leather shoes back on after changing at the end of the Kendo club practice. Lucile, Nagi, Daphne and Isane had at least explained that regardless of what happened today during the explanation that she and Katase would get training to use their Sacred Gears, if they wanted to that is, and that it would be strings free.

Turning to Katase, the brunette saw the resolve on her friend's face as the pair finished gathering their belongings and moved to head outside only to be surprised at what they saw outside.

"What is the Student Council and Occult Research Club doing here?" Katase asked suddenly, Kazuhiko offering a reassuring smile as he answered "Well, they want to see the training room my group has and seeing as that's where I figured I'd do the explanation with you both. So its kinda like killing two birds with one stone."

Murayama watched as Kazuhiko looked around for a moment to ensure they were alone before tapping his foot onto the ground a single time and making a giant magic circle form underneath the whole group as he spoke "Let's get going."

"But wait..." Rias started to say before a bright flash of light caused the group disappear.

When it faded, the large group found themselves in a massive room that looked like it was a the size of a football stadium and had large white squares decorating the walls. Kazuhiko's peerage was all waiting for them and even Asia and Isane were along with them, the latter in a causal outfit of black blouse and leather pants while the former was in her nun outfit minus the habit.

"...humans can't take Devil magic circles." Rias finished, Kazuhiko offering her a smirk as he replied "They can if its specially crafted to allow them through and its not the first time I've made such circles."

"Anyway, welcome to the Danger Room. We're currently about a mile underneath the Bune estate in Kuoh Town and this is a fully decked out training and simulation room." Murayama, Katase and Sona and her peerage all looked around in various degrees of awe at Kazuhiko's words as he continued "Now, this room has some of the best illusion magic incorporated into it to make it able to recreate events or even create environments and situations for training. For example, System Access: Hogwarts, Lecture Hall."

The whole world seemed to shimmer and warp around them before they found themselves in a large stone clad room that looked like it was taken from the films with large benches in a lecture room style and a teacher's desk and blackboard at the front.

"I'll explain more later but for now, I should begin explaining things to Murayama-san and Katase-san. Feel free to take a seat." Kazuhiko added, waving an arm towards the benches which his peerage, Isane and Asia had all taken seats on.

"Is it safe?" Murayama asked cautiously, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "The whole room absorbs a small amount of ambient magic from those within it and more from any stray magic attack that hits the walls to prevent them getting damaged. Everything within is made from [Mist Flames] entwined with illusions to make them real enough to have actual substance although food and water won't do you much good being created in here."

Sona and her peerage moved to take their seats, the Sitri heiress marvelling at the realistic sensation of the wood as she ran her hand along the front row's desks as she commented "Amazing."

The rest soon settled into their seats while Kazuhiko sat atop of the desk facing the group but keeping his focus onto Murayama and Katase as he started to explain, "Well, the first thing you should know is that practically all of the myths and legends are true in some fashion and as such all of the different Pantheons exist as well. This also means that Yokai exist."

At that, Kazuhiko let his Kyuubi features appear to the two kendoists' surprise as he continued "But the main thing we'll focus on for now is the Christian Pantheon as 'Donnie' and Viktor and all of us here is part of it in some manner."

"Now, Donnie and Viktor were Fallen Angels. Angels who were cast out of Heaven for committing a sin although that's not true for all of them as Fallen Angels can be born normally just like all other races. Those two were rogues as, due to the leader of their organisation, its normal protocol to recruit Sacred Gear users rather then kill them." Kazuhiko explained, stifling an amused smile as Katase put up her hand and asked with a scowl "Why did they attack us then?"

"The best I can work out is that they believed whatever powers you have was a threat to them. Truthfully, we won't know until you awaken your Sacred Gears." Kazuhiko answered honestly, seeing Katase nodded with a thoughtful frown before he continued "The rest of us in this room, aside from Asia-san, are fully or partly Devils."

"Now in the past, the Devils fought in a war with Fallen Angels and Angels since ancient times, first with the former over territory in the Underworld, Hell in other words, and later including the Angels who acted upon the Biblical God's orders." Kazuhiko paused as he grimaced from the brief jolt of pain, "At the moment though, all three factions are in a impromptu ceasefire and at the moment are working towards peace."

Seeing that they understood the brief history well enough, Kazuhiko moved on, "Originally, in Kuoh there was three members of the [72 Pillars], the main nobility of the Devil Faction, who were in charge of their own groups. Sona Sitri, who attends under the alias of Souna Shitori, Rias Gremory and myself, Kazuhiko Bune. After the Great War, as the big war is called, and a few other conflicts amongst the Devils the [Evil Pieces] were create. These pieces were created as a means to reincarnate people into Devils to bolster our numbers, based on a side of a chess set which every [High Class Devil] or above or children of a [Pillar Clan] is given a set."

"The people that [Evil Pieces] are used upon are considered, by the Devil Elders and some of the [Pillar Clans], as 'servants', which is demeaning in my opinion, and turn them into Devils unless they have some sort of existing supernatural being in which case they become a hybrid between their original race and Devil." Kazuhiko waved his hand upwards and [Mist Flames] formed into person sized chess pieces with the appropriate ones resembling those of his peerage as he pointed to them "Each [Evil Piece] set contains a [Queen], two [Bishops], two [Knights], two [Rooks] and eight [Pawns] which all have their own power."

"What's this got to do with [Sacred Gears]?" Murayama asked concerned, Kazuhiko offering her a reassuring smile as he dismissed the indigo flame statues as he answered "The reason to explain the [Evil Pieces] is because Devils seek out their users due to their powers and work to recruit them to their side. Onto [Sacred Gears] themselves, they were created by the Biblical God as weapons and powers for humans to be able to match those among the supernatural factions of the world and are gifted to them at birth as part of their soul. In fact, most of the legendary humans in the past probably had one of some fashion to aid them during their lives and even now important figures are likely to hold them, even if not activated. Amongst them there are thirteen that exceed all of them and are said to have the power to kill a Deity if the user fully mastered them. Those are called the [Thirteen Longinus] after the spear that killed Jesus."

"Asia-san is actually a human who was part of the church and has the impressive Sacred Gear: [Twilight Healing] which allows her to heal anyone she wants to." Kazuhiko pointed out, Asia blushing at the praise as Murayama and Katase turned to look at her as the brunet added "Jessica and Sam also have [Sacred Gears]. [Variant Detonation] and [War Forge] respectively."

The two kendoists turned to see the twin yellow shotgun-gauntlets appear over Jessica's hands while Samantha created a beautiful katana with ease as the former explained "Mine is a [Sub Species] based on [Yang Xiao Long's] [Ember Celica] and allow me to fire the aura to make explosions at my opponents rather then only being able to cause them when I brawl with someone."

"[War Forge] allows me to create weapons and armour with various powers and I mainly use [The Knight] magic of [Erza Scarlet] for a base of my armoury although I have been branching out into the [Fate verse] for more weapons." Samantha explained for the pair as she dismissed the katana as Murayama and Katase wondered if all of Kazuhiko's group used fighting styles based on anime characters.

"I should mention right now that yes, I do suggest anime characters to my group for their fighting styles. You don't have to follow my suggestions but they may help with developing your own style with whatever [Sacred Gear] you hold." Kazuhiko explained sheepishly, drawing giggles from Murayama while Katase looked wryly amused at the whole idea as he added "As you've probably figured, I use the [Vongola Flames] from [Katekyo Hitman Reborn] as the basis of most of my [Fire Magic] although as you'll see I pull most of the spells from other sources as well if you train with us."

"How do we activate our [Sacred Gears] then?" Katase asked with focused look, glancing to Murayama to see the determined look on her face as well.

"Well, first you should both come stand in the space here so we can have space for whatever forms." Kazuhiko answered, signalling to the space in front of him, waiting as both swords-women moving to stand in the open space and looking to him for the next instructions.

"Now, close your eyes and focus on the strongest image you can think of. Be it anime character unleashing their strongest attack or a person or thing you know, heck even a concept will work if you think its the strongest there is." Kazuhiko answered, noting that Sona and Rias were both looking intently at the pair as they closed their eyes in concentration.

"Once you have the image fixed in your mind... focus your will on it fully and call for the [Sacred Gear] to emerge from within you." Kazuhiko continued after a few moments, his voice going softer so he wouldn't distract them but still kept loud enough for them to hear him. Tapping into his [Senjutsu], Kazuhiko focused his senses onto the two girls to see if he could notice anything from their [Sacred Gears], a small smile cresting his lips a moment later as he could see them stirring from within them.

"Sacred Gear!" The pair called, swinging an arm forwards, and towards Kazuhiko, as if swinging a sword. A pulse of light from the pair meant that the swing released different coloured energy slashes towards the brunet who used some [Sky Flames] to quickly dodge the attacks that destroyed the desk and blackboard behind him.

"Kazu-kun/san!?" Several voices called, surprising the pair as they opened their eyes to see the damage they they had caused before Kazuhiko clapped his hands from their right as he spoke "Congratulations you two."

Murayama looked down at her hands in surprise to see a bubblegum pink light around her whole body while Katase stared in surprise at the scarlet red light that was around her own body before body lights faded from sight.

"From what I can tell..." Martina spoke as she landed near to Kazuhiko and looked over the pair before speaking "...it looks like they have [Staring Pink] and [Staring Red]."

"Of the [Rainbow Photon] series?" Kazuhiko asked, getting a nod from the teacher as he smiled to the pair and explained "Your [Sacred Gears] allow you to manipulate [Holy Light Magic] but only in the colour that it appears in. They don't have a physical form so there's no real on and off switch to manifest their powers."

"How do we use them then?" Katase asked with a frown in concern, that the attack they had launched where Kazuhiko had been moments before. The pinkette could tell that the damage caused had affected her best friend as well as Martina explained "Truthfully, elemental based [Sacred Gears] like those you wield work based on the user's thoughts and imagination."

"So you did pick up some stuff from being around your Sensei..." Kazuhiko chimed in amused, Martina looking at him knowingly as she retorted with a shrug "It was bound to happen with how Sensei gets bugged by Azazel-sama."

"So, what do we do first?" Murayama asked, Kazuhiko offering a kind smile, silently pleased that they wanted training, as he replied "You start with basic control exercises. Normally I would start with exercise but both of you being part of the [Kendo Club] already means that you are more then capable to handle any physical strain from your powers at this stage. Martina, can you start them on it?"

"Of course. It'd be safer for me to do it given my own skill with [Light Magic]." Martina spoke with a nod before focus onto the pair of students as she added "If you'll follow me we can make a start over here."

With a nod from the pair, Martina lead Murayama and Katase away to a small set of chairs so she could start teaching while Kazuhiko turned to the others that were approaching as he started "Nagi, can you..."

"...go see my Sensei and see if he would accept those two as students when they are ready?" Nagi interrupted with a small smile, Kazuhiko nodding before she disappeared in an aqua blue magic circle as Kazuhiko turned to Daphne and Jessica only to hear the former say "We'll go take Asia-chan to practice with her [Sacred Gear] and see if she can perfect the barriers she's been making."

Kazuhiko closed his mouth with an bemused look as the trio walked off to a separate area before Lucile spoke up with a smile, "I'm going to teach Isane-san the [Hogwarts Series]."

At Kazuhiko's raised eyebrow, Isane shrugged slightly bashful and admitted "I'm thinking about joining... just have to talk to my folks about it."

Kazuhiko nodded before Samantha chimed in with a small smile "I'll see about making sword hilts for Murayama-san and Katase-san to help them practice with drawing out their powers."

"You already know what style I'm thinking of for them?" Kazuhiko asked his [Queen] with a raised eyebrow at her small smug smile as she replied "It was rather obvious once their [Sacred Gears] were revealed, even if the colour isn't correct for parts of it, and would be perfect for swordswomen like them."

Kazuhiko let out a chuckle which the remaining members of his peerage joined in as Sona, Rias and most of the rest of the peerage looked confused about as the latter asked "Who were you thinking of?"

"Two people really... [Kanda Yu] and [Kuchiki Byakuya] but more specifically their chosen swords." Kazuhiko answered, seeing looks of realisation from Tomoe, Tsubasa, Ruruko and Genshirou while Rias and Akeno only recognised the latter name.

"[Kanda Yu's] sword: [Mugen] would work better for close range fighting while [Kuchiki Byakuya's] Zanpakuto: [Senbonzakura] is a good mid-ranged sword as the blade itself turns into hundreds of fragments which can be used for defence as well as attack." Diana explained at seeing Sona and Tsubaki's confusion.

"Maybe you should demonstrate to them." Rhiannon suggested, Kazuhiko nodding in agreement as he moved away from the others before creating an identical version of the Zanpakuto out of [Mist Flames] before declaring "Scatter, Senbonzakura!"

Sona watched intrigued as the blade of the katana broke apart into pink flower petals that swirled like a storm around Kazuhiko before a flick of the hilt sent the swarm skywards where it split into three slimmer streams as she commented "The very blade has become a projectile weapon and can handle multiple targets if the user can split their attention appropriately."

"That's right." Kazuhiko replied with a nod, dismissing the illusion blade with a flick of his wrist.

"What's the [Hogwarts Series]?" Rias asked with a curious look, "You don't mean spells from [Harry Potter]?"

"That's right." Diana spoke with a nod as she explained "Daphne decided to develop a series of spells that worked like those in the books and taught them to the rest of us."

"There's a some useful grooming charms in there as well." Hiromi admitted with a smug smirk at the female in the Sitri group as Kazuhiko shrugged, "I don't know all of them as apparently they were mostly aimed towards females but..."

Kazuhiko turned and pointed a finger at the broken desk and blackboard before casting "Reparo."

A pulse of invisible magic left his finger and the desk and blackboard repaired themselves in front of them, looking as if they had never been cut to pieces by Murayama and Katase's [Sacred Gears] as he added "I know the housekeeping and capture sets which is enough for me."

"Although you're 'Incarcerous' spell does go a bit bondage each time you use it." Rhiannon spoke amused, Kazuhiko blushing with a scowl at her and missing how Akeno's eyes seemed to light up as she looked at him as he grumbled "That's not my fault."

"I think you should demonstrate the sparring facilities to Kaichou and her group before we get more distracted." Diana suggested handing over a silver bracelet covered in symbols which Kazuhiko secured over his wrist while nodding as he spoke to her "Alright. Give me a Lynel."

Diana nodded and Sona, Tsubaki, Rias and Akeno watched closely as she muttered several commands as both desk and blackboard disappeared from sight as Kazuhiko walked towards them, passing through a magic circle to change into the clothes he used for the [Tournament of Kings], minus the mask, before the large centaurian-lion from [Breath of the Wild] formed in front of him. He didn't notice that Murayama and Katase had turned from their lesson to watch as he activated his [Touki], much to the shock of the Sitri group.

"He learnt [Touki] already?" Tsubaki asked shocked, Hiromi smirking as she retorted proudly "Learnt it last week."

Koneko's shakes were stopped by Rias hugging her from behind, the redhead knowing that the white haired girl was still scared of the idea of using [Senjutsu] herself. Sona and Tsubaki shared a look as they tried to come to terms with the fact Kazuhiko had learnt to use [Touki] in a week and after fighting and defeating Sairaorg before which spoke of an impressive talent with picking up new skills.

The Lynel swung its jagged blade down at Kazuhiko as he approached, the brunet deflecting it to the side using a single hand before countering with a punch of his own as Diana spoke "What you saw before with the terrain creation that is part of what we called the [Test Area] which allows you to test magic out safely. This mode is called the [Training Mode] and, with the bracelet adorned, your magic becomes part of the illusion as well. It learns the user's capabilities and helps recreate them with the user's magic so it can gauge itself against the opponents you decide upon."

"So you can safely train in groups?" Sona asked getting a nod from Diana before the shorter ravenette asked "What about injuries sustained during this?"

"The illusion encompasses the user as well and comes with even providing pain to the user as well as showing any wounds you'd sustain during it although killing blows knock them out. That's mainly how we get the illusion enemies to have actual substance as otherwise, even if they are real illusions, they would be easily destroyed by most people without much effort." Diana spoke as she focused on the Lynel as Kazuhiko jumped out of the way of a fierce charge and thrust his hand up as [Ki] started to coalesce in his hand. It spun and swirled as it formed a football sized orb of blue energy as at least half of Sona's peerage, including Rias, muttered in surprise as Kauzhiko declared "Rasengan!"

The Lynel was sent flying as the Rasengan slammed into its side, only managed to travel ten feet before the [Ki] ball burst in an explosion that heavily damaged the centaur-like creature before a dozen [Ki Blasts] peppered its location from Kazuhiko's hands and finished it off.

"So, what do you think?" Kazuhiko asked after dismissing his [Touki] and turning to regard an impressed Sona who answered "I'm suitably impressed by all of this but will need to contact with my parents about it."

...

"Now that that little show is done, let's focus back onto our training." Martina spoke with an amused smile to Murayama and Katase who had been watching Kazuhiko fight the Lynel.

"What was that fight for?" Katase asked curiously as she turned to their teacher, Murayama sharing a curious look as well as Martina answered "Kazu-kun was just demonstrating the training room to Sona. You'll both come to use it more once you've gained control of your powers and practised using them."

"W-Will it be safe?" Murayama asked, worried more about a repeat performance of what had happened before that nearly had injured Kazuhiko then hurting herself. Martina patted her shoulder as she replied "The whole room acts as a mass illusion and with a bracelet that Kazu-kun is wearing it let's you interact with this illusion and means you won't suffer injuries from any attacks you get hit with or others who are hit with attacks you launch, just the pain so you can learn from it."

Murayama relaxed at hearing that and even Katase looked more at ease as the pair sat down in wooden chairs that had appeared at Martina's command.

"Now, the first step is to gather your power into a ball between your hands. It may sound like a simple thing but this will be the start of how you'll need to use your will to assert form on the [Holy Light Magic] of your [Sacred Gears] and much like the basic stage for both Fallen Angel and Devil magic." Martina explained to the pair, holding one hand up and forming a tennis ball orb of white light above it before she added "Once you've managed this, you can learn to construct various weapons depending on your imagination and willpower."

"So, once we're good enough with this we can make our own swords?" Murayama asked, Martina nodding with a smile as she replied "That's right."

"Was Kazuhiko-san showing them how [Senbonzakura] works because he thinks we could use that?" Katase asked, Murayama looking thoughtful as Martina nodded as she answered "Yes, Kazu-kun normally does that once he's figured out our skills and abilities. He only does suggestions but they tend to be the best way to start mastering powers."

"Who did he suggest to you?" Murayama asked curiously, Martina smirking as her ball of light sparked before turning into the lightning bolt shaped bow she used as she answered "He suggested the general Quincy techniques from [Bleach] but also to focus on [Candice Catnipp] from that series and electric type moves from [Pokemon]. This was after seeing how I normally fought and learning that I did archery when I was younger."

The two swordswomen looked surprised at hearing that before looking thoughtful as they wondered who Kazuhiko would suggest for them before Martina spoke up "The sooner you understand the basics the sooner you'll find out who he'll suggest."

Sharing a resolved look, Murayama and Katase returned their focus back onto the lesson.

...

Nagi stepped out of the magic circle behind the house and attached dojo that her teacher lived in with his pregnant wife. Due to the close ties between Kazuhiko and Yasaka and his promise not to recruit any Yokai meant that he and his peerage could travel to Kyoto without much issue. The brunet walked around the building, smiling softly at hearing the students leaving the dojo as she reached the front and made her way through the throng of people.

She slipped off her shoes before stepping inside, seeing her teacher picking up the last of the bokkens around the room as she greeted "Yaegaki-sensei."

"Hello Nagi-chan. I didn't expect for you to come before our next lesson." Masaomi Yaegaki replied with a smile, despite continuing to work. He was an athletic man with long black hair tied into a traditional top knot and hazel coloured eyes. He was dressed in a white kimono top and grey hakama pants.

"Well, Kazu-sama asked me to come visit as we've got a pair of kendoists whose just become aware of the supernatural." Nagi started to explain, following after Masaomi as he waved her to follow him into the house portion.

"So, he wants me to take on another pair of private students?" Masaomi asked as he looked to Nagi, getting a nod from her as she answered "If you're willing to, of course. They are already rather skilled but may need to push to become better."

"Oh, you should take them on, Masa-kun. It would help stop you worrying so much about me and the twins." Cleria Belial chimed in as the pair walked into the living room to see her sitting in a overstuffed armchair. She was a motherly young woman with a noticeable baby bump, long silver hair and eyes, and was wearing an baby blue apron dress.

"But I'm away from you often enough due to my existing classes." Masaomi almost whined to his wife, Nagi hiding her smile behind her hand at watching the scene. Cleria rolled her eyes in fond exasperation as she countered "You're only a shout away in the dojo, Masa-kun, and if things are serious I can call Die-kun as well."

Nagi found it amusing to just think of the reactions in the Underworld that finding out that Cleria called Diehauser Belial, the Emperor, 'Die-kun'. Although that would pale in comparison to the Elders realising that Cleria was still alive and that Diehauser's strength was pure training and not due to the [King] piece he had been given after learning from his cousin what they did and the two combining their evidence together to make an ironclad case for the corruption of the Rating Games.

"I'll do it." Masaomi started, turning his attention to Nagi who smiled as he added "Bring them around tomorrow after my regular lessons and I'll start to teach them."

"Thank you." Nagi spoke with a bow before turning to Cleria to talk about how the others were doing.

...

Murayama and Katase shared tired but pleased smiles as they moved to join the rest of the group near the doorway of the training room to leave. They had both managed to create stable orbs of their [Sacred Gears'] [Light Magic] and could produce them within at least fifteen seconds but hadn't started on the next part which was shaping them as they needed to be able to call on their power quicker.

"You both did rather good against me when I'm not holding back." Nagi spoke with a smile, making both kendoists recall that she had been able to face them both easily and was unnaturally fast compared to them. She had came back after ten minutes of Sona's group leaving, allowing Kazuhiko to work with Rhiannon, Hiromi and Diana for a bit on some training and it had been a lesson on the difference in strength between human and supernatural being to watch.

"Here... These should help you mould your [Light Magic] into swords until you learn to do it yourselves." Samantha spoke as she held out a pair of rectangular katana hilts to Murayama and Katase, the latter who accepted it eagerly as she replied "Thank you for this Samantha-san."

"Yes, thank you for this. Are you sure it's alright to give us these though?" Murayama added as she gave a short bow before accepting it, Samantha shaking her head as she replied "It's fine, Kazu-sama asked me to make them for you."

"They're only a temporary measure until you develop your control enough to shape your power into what you want. Using them too much may result in you becoming reliant on them and that will just make it harder in the long run." Kazuhiko pointed out with a nod, Katase and Murayama looking at the hilts for a moment before nodding in understanding as the brunet held out a pair of papers with magic circles inscribed upon them as he added "These are for emergencies. If you find yourself in trouble, grab this and push their [Light Magic] into them along with a message and one of us should get it and can teleport straight to where you are."

"I'll take them home, Kazu-sama." Lucile spoke with a smile, ushering the two young women towards her while creating a crimson magic circle underneath herself. The trio disappeared in a flash of light before Isane smirked and kissed his cheek as she replied "I'll see you tomorrow. I should have my answer by then."

"Alright." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod before Isane disappeared in a metallic silver magic circle, leaving the rest of the group to head back upstairs and enjoy a some time to themselves before they had to start dealing with contracts.

...

Kazuhiko hummed as he tapped away at the keyboard of his laptop while the others were out on contracts. He was surfing the internet for ideas of how he could use his [Senjutsu] and [Youjutsu] in unique ideas that would work with what he could already do. This was mainly as he wanted to be ready for when his rematch with Sairaorg Bael occurred as well as to sooth the nagging feeling in his gut that was telling him something bad was going to occur sooner or latter.

His search had naturally lead back to [Naruto], a series he hadn't watched growing up due to how long it was and his first time looking into it had lead to him disregarding it due to most of the [Jutsu] involved needing hand seals to actually use them from the few episodes at the start he had watched. Now watching one of the fights near the end and a few fan-made videos about the series on various topics, mainly the different [Jutsu] and unique powers, had showed Kazuhiko there was probably bits of the series he could use for himself with a few adjustments.

The [Rasengan] was a probably the easiest technique for him to learn as it had been just pure [Ki] control once he had seen how it was formed and practised it for himself. It had also been something of a test to see how well things translated over although Kazuhiko had no intention of learning the hand-seals for them given they probably would only work if he wanted to use [Devil Magic] with them.

'I suppose it would be easy enough to use [Youjutsu] symbols to recreate some of these now I have a better understanding of it and better control of my [Ki] and any [Chakra] I take in.' Kazuhiko mused with a thoughtful look, scribbling some ideas for which ones would be needed for the first technique he would be aiming to learn as he mentally added, 'Plus if I can learn the [Transformation Jutsu] without hand-seals it'll probably help up my [Dragonification] powers near to Baasan's level.'

The brunet knew that most fans would see the [Shadow Clone Jutsu] as the most useful but creating an identical copy of himself with half of his reserves was much more complicated as well as keeping the mental link that would allow him to gain the memories from the clone when it dispelled. It would probably help speed up his training as he got use to creating more and more at a time but Kazuhiko had a feeling the moment he revealed it in a [Rating Game] it would get banned because it turned him into a one man army, plus his peerage probably would all start asking for their own clone to sleep with. Kazuhiko knew it would take a while to work out the circle he would need to cast such a spell and work out what symbols would be needed for it.

The clones Kazuhiko had used against Sairaorg during the tournament had been nothing more then illusion wrapped around [Rain Flames] which he had struggled to hold onto due to how little they seemed to affect Sairaorg's mental fortitude and iron resolve. So what the Bael heir hadn't inherited in magical talent or clan ability seemed to gather in mental defence that meant he couldn't be influenced at all.

Shaking his head, Kazuhiko turned his focus onto what he saw was the next stage for his [Touki] and [Senjutsu] and started to make more notes as while he knew he couldn't easily create such a form at the moment, with hard work and a bit of creativity he had a feeling he could recreate a working version in the future.

...

A hooded young woman smiled as she watched the plane she would be taking with her partner and teacher, her violet eyes twinkling happily at the idea of going back to her childhood home as she hummed a hymn to herself.

 **[It's the seventh time you've sung that hymn, partner. I know you love it but there is only so many times I can stand it.]** A male voice growled inside the young woman's mind, making her pout as she thought back 'Aw~... But Ddraig, you know it helps me focus. Can you believe that we might be at the forefront of a new time of peace?'

 **[I wouldn't believe it without seeing it. But I suppose finding out about that cockroach Astaroth and having him imprisoned along with the offer to have Exorcists in their town is a sign the Devils want such a thing.]** Ddraig admitted grudgingly, **[Just need to see what Grigori's reaction to it is.]**

'True.' The young woman hummed thoughtfully before she as shook by her teacher/senior exorcist who spoke "Come Irina. We need to board our flight soon."

"Yes, Ms. Griselda." Irina Shidou spoke cheerfully, turning to see Griselda and Xenovia waiting for her as she pulled down the hood of her red hoodie to reveal her chestnut brown, twin-tails which she shook out with her head before hurrying after them.

...

Author's Note

Now, the reason I gave the Boosted Gear to Irina is cause in the Light Novels she doesn't particularly have a trump card until much later on so giving her it would also be a good reason for her to be sent to Kuoh. Plus I figure its a good contrast to Vali given that Irina will follow her canon counterpart and become an Angel in this. As of this moment, I'm thinking of having probably one or two filler chapters involving stuff like the familiar forest, Murayama and Katase's training and maybe something about Freed's antics before I jump into the Kokabiel arc.


	8. Chapter 8

Here's the next chapter. Not sure on a couple scenes in this one but think overall it works well enough and hope you enjoy it and the bit of karma Rias will have to deal with now.

...

Rias sighed as she stepped out of the magic circle from seeing her last client for the evening, a bodybuilder dressing as a magical girl called Mil-tan. The crimson haired young woman wondered why most of her clients were weird in some way ranging from wanna-be chunnibyou to a stalker girl who bordered on being a Yandere and even had her deal with some pervert who wanted to take pictures of her in revealing cosplay outfits.

'Is these clients some sort of punishment for my wrongs or something.' Rias thought as she sat on one of the chairs opposite Sona's desk to see her [King] writing something down as she asked "What are you working on?"

"A proposal for my parents about making a deal with the [Bune Clan] for at least two training rooms to be set up at some point in the future." Sona answered before looking to Rias as she added, "Just imagine Rias, if I could have such a training room available for the Rating Game School I want to open. It would be invaluable in how much it could help us teach those children... battle strategies, teamwork and even showing recreations of other battles they can learn from. Such a room would even help you learn to better your [Power of Destruction] as it'd leave no lasting damage on your targets or opponents."

"Your right." Rias spoke with a sigh, surprised at the passionate gleam in Sona's eye as she had explained, as she added "That whole room was amazing, even though we only saw a little of it's capabilities."

...

Sitting in his office at Grigori, Azazel read over the last of the interrogations done with the team that had been sent to Kuoh Town to keep an eye on potentially dangerous [Sacred Gear] users.

'Raynare was so deluded into her grand scheme to get noticed by me, she didn't even thing about the change in orders about those two girls.' Azazel thought with a frown before he commented out loud, "And to come up with the plan to extract Asia Argento's [Twilight Healing] for her own use... That must mean someone is trying to cause war to occur or at least preparing for it."

'But who...?' The question rang inside of his mind as Azazel lent back in his chair and thought about it. Raynare's team could have started war depending on how much they acted against Kazuhiko or the Sitri heiress' peerages in the town. The whole team had been lucky to survive if not for Martina having contacted Barakiel on Kazuhiko's behalf to ask about the team's original orders.

The obvious culprit would be Kokabiel in Azazel's mind. The Cadre not having been satisfied about them exiting the Great War first when Azazel had seen more then enough bloodshed and had even inserted himself into [World War Two] on the side of the Nazis just to see more battle and that was also the most obvious of Kokabiel's involvement in the human wars as he had fought Vasco Strada, the strongest wielder of Durandal.

The annoying thing was that Azazel didn't even know where Kokabiel was at this moment in time as the war mongering Cadre had been only attending the leader meetings and had not been seen within any of the major Grigori institutes according to his own information network. The only thing the Governor of Grigori could be relatively sure upon was that trouble would be coming to Kuoh Town as it held the two younger siblings of the Maou and the winning of the [Tournament of Kings] who also happened to be in contact with Grigori through Martina and on friendly terms with them.

...

"I want to join Kazu-kun's peerage, Kaa-san, Tou-san." Isane blurted out after a few minutes pushing around her breakfast on the plate while trying to work out how to broach the topic with her parents. Isane looked up after a moment to see her mother smirking knowingly to her grumbled father.

"What?" Isane asked with a frown, looking between the pair before her father handed her mother a couple Yen bills as she realised "You were betting on if I would want to join his peerage?"

"When, not if." Her mother answered pleased as she accepted the bills, "We did meet Kazu-kun when you were younger as part of Rykeoss' project and while he helped you train."

"That young man has an empathy towards others that we knew would help him gather loyal individuals who he helps become powerful." Isane's father added with a grudging nod as he thought 'Plus the fact he's obviously the mate to those three dragons so he probably has gone through the ritual to become part Dragon as well.'

"We knew the chances were high when you refused the offer to get your own [Evil Pieces]." Isane's mother added with a knowing look, Isane nodding in agreement with what her father had said before blushing at her mother's comment as she thought over who was part of Kazuhiko's peerage before asking "So, its fine for me to join Kazu-kun's peerage?"

"Yes." The pair answered, Isane grinning pleased as she practically leapt over the table to hug them before her mother chimed in with a smirk "Just don't make us grandparents too soon."

"Kaa-san!" Isane blurted embarrassed, her face red and a faint trickle of blood threatening to spill from her nose at the thought of it.

...

The morning for Murayama and Katase saw the pair go through their usual training routine but with an extra addition, the usual consisted of a long run before being followed up by the pair practising the various strikes with weighted bokken. The addition to this routine came from them resting their bokken on a bench and spending an additional half an hour practising to draw on their [Sacred Gears] power and quick summon and dismiss the orb of light each held so they could call upon it when they needed. This last part was done under the watchful gaze of Samantha, who was also working on her [Rune Magic] once she had seen that they were safely manifesting their powers like they had been practising the previous evening.

"When do we start on molding our [Light Magic]?" Katase asked, once they had finished for the morning. Samantha offering them an understanding smile as she replied "You'll probably start after school today."

"I understand your frustration..." Samantha added after a few moments of silence as they walked back toward Katase's home, "Kazu-san wouldn't let me conjure a sharp blade until he knew I could wield it safely and its similar due to you needing to understand the dangers of your [Light Magic] and how to properly picture the form you want it to take."

"She has a point, Kat... We could hurt ourselves if we picture it wrong or get hurt if we can't draw on them to form quickly enough." Murayama pointed out, Katase grudgingly nodding as Samantha added "The hilts I made also rely on you being able to draw your [Light Magic] quickly so you can defend yourselves."

Samantha stopped suddenly at feeling a malicious intent directed at her. Her hand clenched to the point that it looked like she held an invisible blade as she turned to try and find the source of the feeling only to feel it disappear after a few seconds as whoever was the source had left.

"Is everything alright?" Murayama asked concerned, the greenette turning back to her and Katase to see they had both grabbed the hilts she had made as she offered a smile and replied "I-I think it was nothing."

'I should let Kazu-san know that there might be a rogue member around.' Samantha thought to herself as she ushered the pair towards their homes so they could get ready for school.

...

"So, there might have been a stray exorcist we missed." Kazuhiko muttered as he, Diana and Samantha walked a bit behind the rest of the group, so as to not worry Asia if she overheard them.

"What should we do?" Samantha asked, Diana and Kazuhiko sharing a look before the latter answered "We'll have to keep an eye out for them to see if they try and act although I imagine they'd try to leave if they had any sense."

"Well, most stray exorcists don't have any sense given how zealous they can be." Diana pointed out, getting nods from Samantha and Kazuhiko before she added "I'll pass on the message to Kaichou seeing as you've got a demonstration at lunch. Oh, I'll also ask to see if you can use the Old School Building for it."

"Demonstration?" Samantha asked curiously, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "Ise says her parents are happy for her to join the peerage so I figured it would be worth showing Murayama-san and Katase-san what happens so they'll know what they are seeing if they run across something like that in the future."

Samantha nodded in understanding at hearing that as Kazuhiko thanked Diana for thinking about where he would reincarnate Isane.

...

"So, there's a chance that a stray Exorcist still around town." Sona mused as she regarded Diana who sat on the opposite side of her desk, getting a nod from the mature bodied ravenette who replied "We didn't do any sort of scan over the town when he acted on the Fallens' attack on Katase-san and Murayama-san. We had assumed they wouldn't want any exorcists potentially disrupting their plans and kept them at the church."

"That's a reasonable assumption." Sona spoke with a nod, "I'll keep my peerage on alert for such a thing."

"Thank you." Diana replied with a nod, "Oh, Kazu-sama wishes to use the Old School Building for a demonstration on how [Evil Pieces] work, now that Isane has decided to join our group."

"I'm fine with that. I'll alert Rias now to expect visitors seeing as she still uses the club as a front." Sona spoke with a nod as both formed a magic circle to communicate with their respective member.

Once she was done, Diana stood up and turned to leave only to stop as Sona spoke up "One last thing... Koneko voiced to me that she sensed something dragonic from Kazuhiko-san. I assumed it was part of his [Bune] heritage but..."

"You want to know if it is or not...?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow, Sona adjusting her glasses as she nodded once. Diana paused as she wondered whether to answer the Sitri heiress or not before deciding that it wasn't very important information over all as she answered "Its not due to his [Bune] heritage but more due to his status as my, Rhiannon's and Hiromi's mate. Any mate to a partial or full Dragon usually goes through a small 'rite' which imbues a small portion of that dragon's power into the mate. This typically only is to ensure that the non-dragon will live as long as the dragon partner and gifts them some of their power for their own protection at a lower level compared to the dragon's strength."

Sona looked surprised and amazed at hearing what seemed like a open secret among the Dragons, wondering how much of Kazuhiko had gained as Diana answered "Kazu-sama didn't gain much as his own powers is rather strong already in the particular areas that we three gained from our dragon sides and he's roughly a sixth Dragon from the three rites being performed on him after each of us joined. Although the reason for it being done was to make us seem equals in some regard despite me being much like the 'first wife' overall."

"Why doesn't more Devils know about this?" Sona asked curiously, Diana resting a hand on her hip and giving her a 'are you stupid' look as she answered "My Tou-sama decided it was best for us to hide this fact because of your Elders. What would they think if they learnt that some of the heads of the Pillars weren't pure devils any longer because they had Dragons in their harems who had performed the rite on their partner."

Sona grimaced at the thought and realisation that came with Diana's question. She knew it would cause a lot of trouble due to several Lords or Ladies being revealed as not 'pure' anymore and make those who insisted on the pure Pillars Devils ruling try and grab more power or push away those dragons who had came to the Underworld with Tannin, when he became Mephisto Pheles' [Queen].

"What about dragonic [Sacred Gears] though?" Sona asked as she thought of Saji, Diana relaxing as she answered "From what I've been told its a different matter as its more akin to a deal made between the Dragon within and the host. Depending on the relationship between them the deal can seem minor or important and in these cases the rite is much the same although depending on what the Dragons wants to do they can focus it on the part of the user's body offered to alter it alone as proof or use the subtle variant that mates perform."

"Thank you for answering that for me. It's been illuminating, Diana-san." Sona spoke with a thankful nod, Diana nodding as she turned to leave but not before adding "I only tell you this because that [Pawn] of your will probably learn about the rite, if Vritra is ever reformed."

...

Murayama and Katase shared a curious look as they followed Isane towards the Old School Building during lunch as the Dhampir explained "Kazu-kun figured you'd like to at least see how [Evil Pieces] work given that I'm going to join his peerage."

"Is it going to be okay for him to turn you during lunch?" Murayama asked concerned, Isane smiling back at them as she replied "I'm already half Devil so all it'll do is bind me to Kazu-kun's peerage and grant me a bit of a boost in power along with allowing me to use [Promotion]."

"What's [Promotion]?" Katase asked with a frown, Isane realising that hadn't been covered the previous evening as they entered the Old School Building. She lead the pair upstairs towards where the Occult Research Club was located as she explained "[Promotion] is the special ability that [Pawns] have. It allows them to gain the powers of another piece when within somewhere that's recognised as enemy territory or at their [King's] approval."

"What powers do the other [Pieces] have?" Murayama asked curiously before Isane answered "[Rooks] have incredible strength and defence, making them like tanks in terms of gaming. [Knights] are the opposite and focus on speed and typically wield some sort of weapon to fight. [Bishops] gained enhanced reserves of magic and an easier time casting it and the [Queen] gets a lesser form of the powers of all three: [Rook], [Knight] and [Bishop], and often is recognised as the strongest member."

Isane paused in front of the door only long enough to knock on it and announce her, Katase and Murayama's presence before they entered. The two kendoists taking several moments to look around the decorated room before their gaze came to land on where Kazuhiko and Rias were sitting opposite each other with Lucile and Daphne either side of the former and Akeno at the latter's side while an awkward atmosphere in the air before the brunet spoke "Glad that you both decided to come watch this."

"It's alright. We figured seeing this would be interesting to see. Plus we finally get to see inside the infamous [Occult Research Club's] room." Katase admitted with a sheepish shrug as Kazuhiko stood up and signalled them to move towards the spacious part of the room.

"Fair enough." Kazuhiko replied with a nod, signalling to the ground as he added "Ise-san, if you'll lie down, I can start."

Isane nodded as she lay down on the ground, Kazuhiko using his magic to form a blue-purple magic circle around her as he explained "This circle is to help fuel the reincarnation ritual and is more needed for those who have recently been deceased but I'm using it now just to be a precaution."

Pulling out a blue-purple [Pawn], Kazuhiko showed it to the pair before Rias spoke surprised "A [Mutation Piece]?"

"As Rias has pointed out this is a [Mutation Pawn], meaning that its value is more then just a normal version. As such, this piece could reincarnate someone stronger where otherwise I might have to use multiple regular ones. Also, Lucile, Samantha, Rhiannon and Hiromi each took a [Mutation Pawn] to join my peerage and the last three I have are also [Mutated] ever since I gained my [Evil Pieces]."

Katase and Murayama looked surprised at hearing that while Rias just hid her look of envy which Lucile and Daphne noticed as they moved to stand near the two humans, knowing that [Mutation Pieces] were a sign of something special about the [King] who gained them.

"Now, I set this piece onto the person's chest so it recognises who will be joining my peerage." Kazuhiko explained as he set the [Pawn] down between Isane's breasts before stepping out of the circle as he continued "And say the incantation... I, Kazuhiko Bune, bid thee, Isane Hyoudou-Zagan, to become my [Pawn]. Enjoy your new life amongst my family."

Katase and Murayama stared as the magic circle glowed brightly, bathing Isane in the light before the [Pawn] started to shine brightly. Seconds afterwards, the [Evil Piece] sunk through her clothing and into Isane's body, lighting up her whole body for a few seconds before the circle and light faded.

"And there you go. With someone who recently died or who wasn't a Devil beforehand, they would probably need longer for their body to fully adjust with the change and so will probably sleep for a few hours." Lucile chimed in as Kazuhiko helped Isane back to her feet.

...

Rykeoss sighed as she sat in the council meeting between the Lords/ Ladies of the [Pillar Clans], listening as one of the [Conservatives] pipe on about how hybrids would pollute the [Clan Abilities] of the [Pillars] if they remained in the the lines of inheritance at all.

"We already have laws in place to ensure that any formerly extinct Pillar has to marry a pure blood so we can bolster such bloodlines and now you suggest removing the chance of us consolidating our Faction by losing them wholly?" Lord Sebatian Sitri asked with a raised eyebrow, interrupting Lord Beleth's speech before Lord Agares added "If not for the work of Lady Bune and Lord Beezlebub, we wouldn't have regained the three clans - [Leraje], [Focalor] and [Raim] - already, nor the bolstering to two others, [Lucifuge] and [Ronove], who are part of the [King of Kings'], Kazuhiko Bune's, peerage."

Rykeoss faintly smirked at seeing the dark look that flittered over Lord Phenex's face at the mention of her grandson, clearing her throat loudly as she stood to speak "When I started my project I wanted to bring the Devil Faction as a whole up to our full strength. Restoring the [Pillars] and ensuring lost powers returned to our side. Such things like purity of our offspring's blood is something that never enters most parents' minds and even some of our race take advantage of our low birth rate and forget the consequences that can result from it."

A sweeping glance rewarded Rykeoss with several uncomfortable looks as the others were reminded about the illegitimate girls that made most of Kazuhiko's peerage as she continued "But during my work with my grandson assisting me he has shown me that our descendants, pure or not, can truly teach us things we never fathomed ourselves as we teach them. Their powers can develop beyond what we could imagine through hardwork and training and to be excluding them from the lines of inheritance or even shunning them will see us potentially risk another civil war and weaker overall."

Rykeoss swept her gaze over the room once more as she let her warning sink in, seeing everyone was thinking about what could happen as she crossed her arms behind her back, "Imagine, if you will, my grandson and his [Queen] having a child in the future. Such a child would not only house the [Bael], [Dantalion], [Phenex] and [Bune] abilities but also have the toughness and strength of the former [Dragon King] Tannin and be able to wield [Senjutsu]. Would you want such a child working with us or against us? Imagine the children that could emerge between a [King] and one of their peerage and ask the same question."

"The [Evil Pieces] opened up a wonderful opportunity to grow stronger and we accepted that they make Devil hybrids out of those with previous supernatural blood who join by giving them the chance to work to attain [High Class] status. It should only be fair that our Pillars should be open to such a think to help ourselves as well."

"Thank you all for listening." Rykeoss spoke with a flourish before sitting down in her seat as the once silent hall started to fill with whispering.

"Very impressive speech, Rykeoss." Lord Agares spoke impressed. He was a willowy yet intelligent looking man with straw blond hair cut into floppy bangs and ruby red eyes framed by frame-less glasses and dressed in a dark blue suit with a grey shirt.

"Thank you, Stephan..." She replied absently as she kept most of her focus on seeing who was taking her speech well or poorly as she asked "How is your daughter doing since the tournament?"

"Ah, Seekvaira has redoubled her training for the [Young Devil Gathering] this summer. It seems that witnessing the ending portion of the tournament has shown her that she would have lost even had she beaten the Sitri heiress. Your grandson and Sairaorg Bael are both forces to be reckoned with but I think she has set her sights on avenging herself of that defeat against the Sitri heiress, if the match ups fall right for her." Lord Agares answered with a light chuckle, Rykeoss nodding in understanding as she replied "I understand what you mean. Kazuhiko has always been serious about his training but I think he's working himself harder for a potential rematch with Sairaorg."

"Is there any other views people wish to share in regards to Lord Beleth's proposed bill?" Sirzechs asked once he managed to quieten the room, looking around to see if anyone was going to stand up and talk.

Within the Pillar meetings, Sirzechs filled the role of 'Speaker of the House' and helped keep order in regards to the meetings but it was the Pillars that passed bills which would be passed onto the Elders for review. The other Maous would switch with him if the issue or bill raised fit into their areas as it was seem as the Pillar Houses offering advice or direction to said Maou.

"If no one else wishes to speak then we'll begin the vote for this [Pillar Inheritance] bill." Sirzechs spoke, his gaze turning to the magic of the throne he was sat on to see how many agreed or disagreed to pass the bill as he waited for everyone to vote before speaking with a faint smile on his lips, "The bill has been voted down by over three quarters of the Pillars."

Rykeoss smiled pleased at the result and took note of those who looked negatively at losing the bill so she could tell who could be trouble in the future from among the [Pillars]. She absently noted that Lord Phenex was among those number and glaring at Lord Beleth.

...

Griselda stopped as they left the bus station, Irina and Xenovia stopping behind her in surprise at seeing who had came to greet them. She recognised the young man as Kazuhiko Bune from photos taken from the recording of the tournament and the young woman next to him was Hiromi although they were both wearing their school uniform.

"What are you devils doing here?" Xenovia barked off before shrinking under Griselda's stern gaze as Hiromi retorted with a snort "We do live in this town..."

"Hiromi." Kazuhiko spoke up with a warning tone as he looked to her, Hiromi stopping and settling to look unimpressed at the group as he added "I thought it was only courteous for me to meet with you, afterall we are going to be co-existing within this town. Plus to give you a heads up for what's going on at the moment before the official meeting."

"That would be great." Irina spoke cheerfully, Griselda nodding herself as she added "Thank you for the courtesy."

With that the group started to walk towards the church, Kazuhiko explaining about the rogue Fallen Angels that had been in town and the chance that a few stray exorcists could have avoided their raid on the church to clear them out while Irina looked interested, Griselda keeping a respectful air while Xenovia looked at them with grudging respect at the fact they had protected the humans in town from rogue Fallen Angels.

...

"Are you sure about this?" Diana asked Daphne quietly as they stood off to the side while Asia created a glowing green barrier from the ring form of her [Twilight Healing] to block small blasts of water from Lucile.

"At this point she can block those attacks fairly easily but for it to truly evolve she needs more focused resolve. Giving her a surprise attack should help test that and with the system it'll make it safe for her." Daphne answered, keeping her gaze on Asia as Lucile used her [Kappa Soul] to fire off stronger water attacks at the blonde.

"Alright but if this doesn't work, Kazu-sama isn't going to be the only person punishing you for this." Diana spoke seriously, Daphne nodding in agreement as she replied "That's fine. After the help she's given us with him, I'll take it if this doesn't work."

Diana nodded in agreement at hearing that, Asia having an affinity for [Dragon Taming] had helped Kazuhiko let his guard around them all a bit more as it was obvious that the girl had no ulterior motives and it showed him that there were people out there who wouldn't take advantage of him. Even when they helped her, Asia was concerned about being a burden on them and Kazuhiko had just asked for Asia's help in regards of teaching them about the Church and help teach all the girls some basic healing techniques.

"Here." Daphne spoke, handing over the bracelet that allowed people to interact with the illusions from the system and, more importantly for what they were about to do, would turn her attacks into part of the illusion. Diana noticed that there was a bracelet already on the silver-blonde's wrist as she took a calming breathe before spreading her wings and taking the sky as she put the bracelet on.

Steeling herself, Diana raised a hand above her and started to concentrate on her power and created a giant sphere of [Power of Destruction] as she intoned "Chaos Nightmare."

She ignored the ache in her chest at seeing the frightened look on Asia's face as she threw the attack at the blonde, watching the young healer throw her arms up create a large green shield while her twin rings shined brightly to power it. Diana's attack was stopped against the shield

Asia soon realised that despite Diana's attack being stopped by her, she still had to defend against Lucile as she moved a hand to create a separate shield to block the water attacks while her first shield flickered slightly as it shrunk in size but still stopped Diana's attack.

"Ice Make: Spear!" Daphne shouted, sending the spear rocketing towards Asia, shocking the blonde as her eyes widened in fear. Her rings shone a blinding white as they started to change, six beams of white light shooting off each one to different points around her as her original barriers disappeared to only be replaced by a spherical shield that holds all three attacks with ease. The glow faded to reveal that her rings had changed into a pair of silver hoop bracelets with a pair of marble sized emeralds embedded in them on opposite sides while around her was twelve small angel charms that were providing the focus points for her current barrier.

Asia stared in amazement at the barrier around her as the trio of attacks faded from sight, her barrier soon following as the angel charms flew back to attach themselves onto her bracelets as Daphne rushed towards her, hugging her as she spoke "I'm so sorry I did that but it was the only way I could think of to give you that final push."

Asia blushed at the affection from the normally cool, young woman as Diana and Lucile approached before Kazuhiko's voice made the quartet jump, "What did you do?"

The three devils stiffened as they turned to see Kazuhiko looking serious at them with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed. Daphne coughed into her fist to regain her composure before she explained "I convinced Diana and Lucile to use the system with me to throw illusionary attacks at Asia-san to provide the emotion needed for her to evolve her Sacred Gear."

Kazuhiko relaxed at hearing Daphne's explanation, understanding that if Asia had known she wouldn't have had the same reaction to it as he spoke "I'll let you off this time, Daphne, but next time you better let me know before hand otherwise I'll make you have to go through a Alien training scenario alone."

Daphne shuddered at the thought of being put through that, she couldn't stand the movies and spent most of them clinging to Kazuhiko with her face buried into his neck.

"So, Asia-san. What can your [Twilight Healing] do now?" Kazuhiko asked curiously as he turned to the blonde, getting an excited look from her as she started to explain what she knew about her Sacred Gear as the pair walked off to head back upstairs.

...

Nagi smiled as she appeared from the magic circle with an exhausted Katase and Murayama after their lesson with Masaomi. She had only expected that they would have been tested to see their current level but her teacher had included the first lesson which left the pair rather bruised up due to the spar he had with both of them. That had also been why she had brought the pair to the Bune home as she knew Kazuhiko could heal such wounds and avoid more questions being asked by the two girls' families when they got home.

"Kazu-sama! Asia-san!" Nagi called as she lead the two inside from the large back garden, looking around for her [King] so the two girls could be healed before their lesson with Martina. The two girls traipsed behind her as she lead them towards the living room, sliding the door open to see Kazuhiko half watching [Bleach] again while tapping away at a laptop he was working on as he asked "What's wrong, Nagi?"

"Ah! A seat." Katase groaned as she dropped onto one of the comfortable sofas nearby, Murayama soon joining her as Nagi looking embarrassed as she explained "Sensei included the first lesson after seeing what level they are at. Where is Asia-san?"

"Ah... She went out with Sam and Jessica after an incident that happened earlier." Kazuhiko spoke with a slight frown at being reminded what had happened. He put down the laptop before moving to stand in front of the pair as he rested a hand on each girl's shoulder before intoning "Vivification."

Both girls released a relieved sigh as a sunny yellow and soothing green aura flowed from his hands over their bodies. He'd copied the technique from [Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero] as several of his own healing techniques before then would have resulted in both girls having haircuts due to the nture of the [Sun Flames] but combining it with his [Senjutsu] meant he could channel the healing power to just affect their natural healing ability without causing outwards signs. Before he had gotten proper control over manipulating his [Ki] it would have been hard to heal both at once but now he could use it easier and with less energy although Asia had helped as well by showing how her [Twilight Healing] healed as well.

"Let them rest here for a bit to get their strength back. Oh, and tell Martina their back." Kazuhiko spoke to Nagi, getting a nod from her before she left amused at the coincidence of the episode being the one where Byakuya and Ichigo fought.

"Do expect us to be able to do that?" Katase asked with a frown as Byakuya unleashed his [Bankai], Kazuhiko offering a nod as he answered "Not now of course but your [Sacred Gears] has the potential to be able to do that given [Elemental Sacred Gears] operate on the user's imagination and reserves of energy with how they create attacks, whether they be simple bow and arrow or a dozens of swords like that. As you get use to doing it, your skill for it and speed will grow along with your reserves so you can do bigger stuff or doing the simple things more easier."

Kazuhiko held out a hand and conjured a ball of [Sky Flames] as he added "I've been in the same position as you both considering my 'father' didn't see to training me in my powers once it was learned I didn't have the [Phenex Regeneration] at its natural level and I know it can be frustrating to get the basics down."

The two kendoists were entranced as Kazuhiko dropped his hand and the ball of flames split into a dozen smaller wisps that lazily danced around him as he added "I probably had a good dozen accidents with each [Vongola Flame] when I first recreated them but as I got use to doing it correctly it became easier and I could do more with them and even then there was the odd accident when I tried something new."

"All the training you're going through now is so you can avoid accidents that might have happened had you learned to use your [Sacred Gears] on your own and even if you don't stick with the suggestions I made, you'll have learnt how powerful imagination can be with your [Sacred Gears] and at least be used to forming swords for your own safety." Kazuhiko finished with, Katase and Murayama looking thoughtfully as the flames extinguished themselves.

"I didn't think of it like that." Katase spoke thoughtfully, shifting her gaze to glance at the tv once more as Kazuhiko took his seat.

"What are you working on?" Murayama asked curiously, Kazuhiko offering a smile as he replied "Just reading a report about some business with the Dragons from in Diana's father's group. Its something I need to get use to doing more, even if its boring, as I'm going to become the head of my clan."

With a nod, Murayama turned her gaze to the TV as well, both getting absorbed into the anime while their bruises healed.

...

Both peerages had to only wait a day before the Church representatives approached the school for the official meeting, Kazuhiko and Sona both agreeing to have it the day after. They were currently gathered in the Occult Research Club room, minus Diana and Tsubaki, before the meeting with the group from the Church. Both [Queens] were at the gates to meet with the trio of exorcists and guide them to the meeting, even as Asia, Katase and Murayama shifted nervously on the extra sofas brought in so both peerages could sit down behind the one Kazuhiko and Sona were currently on while Akeno served tea.

"Are you sure its a good idea to have them attend as well?" Sona asked quietly, Kazuhiko nodding as his fox ears twitched atop of his head as he replied "Think of this as showing them who is already aware of us and under my protection. Plus, Asia-san would hopefully show them that we are taking care of her and haven't done anything nefarious."

Sona nodded slowly as she understood what Kazuhiko meant and was hoping to achieve. The exorcists seeing that Asia was still human and treated well would hopefully make them more amenable and open to peace in the future. The ravenette glanced back to see Rias shifting uncomfortably where she sat, a sign she wasn't use to the idea of not being involved in the upcoming meeting, before letting her gaze drift to Kiba Yuuto in worry at the potential trouble that could occur due to him as she thought, 'I hope he can keep his cool if they bring any Holy Swords with them. And I pray they don't have a fragment of Excalibur with them.'

"Some reason I should be wary about Kiba-san for this?" Kazuhiko asked curiously, Sona turning back to the brunet as she shook her head and replied "I'm hoping it won't be..."

Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow at Sona, who sighed as she added "I'll explain it later but it its unlikely to cause any trouble for this meeting. What about your peerage?"

"Alright." Kazuhiko replied before offering a smile as he answered her "Only problem from my peerage is one that the Exorcists make in the first place."

Sona frowned at the cryptic answer before sipping her cup of tea as they waited for the exorcists to arrive. The next few minutes passed by peacefully as a faint soothing aura seemed to form within the room, Sona turning her attention to Kazuhiko to see him using his finger to trace a few symbols into the air as he explained "Just a little thing to help calm nerves."

Sona raised an eyebrow at him before a knock on the door signalled the arrival of Tsubaki and Diana along with the church's representatives for the town as she called "Come in!"

The door opened and Griselda lead in Irina and Xenovia, each was dressed in the skin tight black exorcist uniform which were standard for all and had a cloak over the top to avoid drawing attention from normal people spotting them. Xenovia had a large wrapped blade strapped to her back crudely by a strip of brown leather while Irina had a white ribbon around her right wrist and Griselda had a sword sheathed at her waist.

"Please take a seat." Kazuhiko spoke with a smile as he signalled to the empty sofa opposite him, hiding his amused look at the surprised looks the two younger exorcists had at seeing him with his ears and tails on display. Diana and Tsubaki closed the door behind them and then moved to stand behind the opposing shoulder of their respective [King].

Griselda sat in between the two younger exorcists, offering a happy smile to Asia as she spoke "It's good to see you're alright, Sister Asia."

"It's nice to see you again, Sister Griselda." Asia spoke with a bright smile as she added "Kazuhiko-san and his group has looked after me since I arrived here."

"I bet he has..." Xenovia grumbled with a glare at the former nun before Griselda swatted her on the back of the head and retorted "Sister Asia was an unfortunate target of Diodora Astaroth. If not Bune-san, he would be free to try and corrupt another good soul so do not try and presume things."

"S-sorry Sister Griselda." Xenovia mumbled embarrassed, Irina looking at Murayama and Katase as she asked "May I ask why those two are here if they aren't part of either of your peerages?"

"Murayama-san and Katase-san are under my protection after the rogue Fallen Angels targeted them." Kazuhiko answered, ignoring Xenovia's earlier outburst, "They are being trained to use their [Sacred Gears] by myself and my peerage so that they can defend themselves in the future."

"You didn't try and have them join your peerage?" Irina asked surprised, clasping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment at asking that as Kazuhiko offered a smile as he answered "No. I prefer helping those I come across get stronger on their own. If they choose to ask to join after learning about the [Biblical Factions] and the Supernatural as a whole then I want them to be sure about such a life changing choice."

Irina looked amazed at him while Griselda smiled pleased even as Xenovia regarded the brunet with disbelief and grudging respect as Kazuhiko sipped at his drink before realising he hadn't offered the exorcists any as he asked "Would you like some refreshments before we start or...?"

Griselda shook her head at the offer as she replied "No, thank you. And I apologise for these girls' outburst, Xenovia's still getting use to the idea of a chance of peace between our groups and Irina has always been inquisitive."

"That's fine. Diodora Astaroth's actions were something none of the Maou approved of and both myself and Kazuhiko must seem unusual compared to the usual Devils you deal with." Sona spoke understandingly, Griselda nodding as she replied "Let's start with picking the guidelines for our time here in your territory. I'd like to first propose that we share information about any strays that enter this town and allow the group that learned of it first chance to handle the matter."

"That's fine with us." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod after looking to Sona for her reaction before adding "I'd like to add that if either group feels a situation is beyond their own group, then they can ask for assistance so we can work together to resolve it."

"I can see the merit of that." Griselda spoke with a nod, "We have been given orders by the higher ups to not interfere with any Devil contracts within this town and how you operate within."

"Thank you." Sona spoke with a nod, "As, I'm the [Student Council President], I've begun to make preparations for your two juniors to join Kuoh Academy so they can settle into the town better and have an appropriate cover for being here."

"That is much appreciated as I already had been directed to enrol them within the school." Griselda spoke with a soft smile as she added "I believe that will be a good start for our future relations within this town."

"Ah. One last thing, Griselda-san." Kazuhiko spoke up, clicking his fingers as he remembered it, "I would hope that you'd allow Asia-san to be able to visit the church as I'm sure she would be happy to aid you in taking care of it, even if she was ex-communed for an error that wasn't her own."

"Wasn't her own!? She healed a Devil?" Xenovia blurted out with a scowl, Griselda turning a withering glare to the girl that was like her own daughter as Kazuhiko pointed out "Diodora-teme would have never got that close to Asia-san if it wasn't for the lax actions of the exorcist protecting her."

 **[He does have a point, partner. The nun wasn't taught to sense Devils like exorcists are. All she probably saw was someone injured.]** Ddraig spoke up to Irina before she could let out a retort, flushing as she looked down at her left hand and the glowing green circle on the back as she thought 'You're right, Ddraig.'

"Be silent, Xenovia." Griselda ordered sharply at the bluenette's outburst, "Will I have to remind you of your manners and decorum when we return home?"

Xenovia's shoulders dropped heavily at the rebuttal, ducking her head in shame as she spoke "I...I'm sorry for my outburst, Sister."

"I would be happy for her to assist us as long as it doesn't interfere with her studies." Griselda spoke with a smile, seeing the hopeful look on Asia's face at Kazuhiko's suggestion before she nodded vigorously at the given condition.

Kazuhiko leant back as Sona took charge of the final part of the meeting, handing over the packet of papers that the trio would need to fill out so that both Xenovia and Irina could attend Kuoh Academy. He was thankful for his preparations as Xenovia seemed like the one to jump to conclusions and be headstrong enough to cause trouble when he met them yesterday. He could also sense a strong dragonic presence coming from Irina which he figured was a Sacred Gear but had no idea what it was and doubted they would disclose it or what each holy sword the three Exorcists wielded, just like he or Sona wouldn't give them any information about their peerages.

'Oh well, suppose peace has to start somewhere.' Kazuhiko thought as he sipped his tea, 'Trust will hopefully build with time.'

...

"Well, that went relatively smoothly." Sona spoke with a relieved sigh as she sat back in her seat, removing her glasses and started to clean them with a handerchief from her skirt pocket, "That 'soothing aura' obviously helped if the comments by that Xenovia were anything to go by but at least she didn't reach for her sword."

"I think she would have been even calmer had I not mentioned about Asia's dismissal from the church in that way but it seems that Griselda-san and Irina-san are the more understanding ones of their group." Kazuihko replied with a slightly sheepish smile. There was only the two [Kings], their [Queens], Rias and Kiba Yuuto left in the room after the meeting had ended and the others had been allowed to leave.

"So... What was your concern about...?" Kazuhiko asked, letting his gaze shift to Kiba as he trailed off as Rias asked "Have you heard of the Holy-sword Project?"

Kazuhiko shook his head, having never heard of it as he glanced to Diana to see she had the same reaction as the redhead continued "It was a project several years ago inside the Christian Church that aimed towards making people who could wield the holy-sword Excalibur."

"So, you were part of this project, Kiba?" Kazuhiko asked, Kiba nodding as he replied "Yes, Bune-sama."

"Yuuto received artificial treatment to adapt to the holy-sword but..." Rias continued only for Kiba to interrupt in a tight, angry tone "Myself and my comrades back then were deemed failures because we couldn't adapt to them and disposed of... That is why I will destroy Excalibur. If it wasn't for those vile blades..."

"Really? You're blaming a weapon?" Kazuhiko asked surprised, getting a glare from Kiba as he pointed out "If not Excalibur, the Church would have chosen another holy-sword to aim for with that project. The Joyeuse, Durandal, Galatine, Ascalon... Any of those swords could have become your target for revenge just cause they were aiming to make a wielder for them."

Kiba's anger seemed to quell under Kazuhiko's words, seeing the truth and logic behind it as the brunet added "IF you want to blame someone then it should be the person who created that project or even those who followed orders to dispose of your comrades deserve it but not a weapon. Not some tool whose only sense of will is being able to pick a wielder to use its power for good or ill. And even then the best revenge you could give them is to live for those comrades who died and become stronger then that project with your own strength."

Diana smiled proudly as she caught the surprised looks from the other young women in the room at Kazuhiko. This was the same Kazuhiko who tore strips from a pompous HIgh Class Devil who was just after her for her body and then beat him without any need for magic.

Rias grimaced as she realised she'd not helped her former [Knight] realise the problem with his need for revenge as well as she had thought as Kiba slumped slightly where he stood and took in what Kazuhiko had said. The brunet taking a calming breathe himself before he added "That is what I did when I was constantly looked down on by my father and Riser for not inheriting anything near to the full [Phenex Regeneration]. I didn't go and blame it on something I had no control over. I worked to make sure the next time I saw either of them that flaw wasn't going to hold me back."

With that Kazuhiko signalled to Diana that they should leave, the pair leaving the room and the quartet within to think over what he had said.

...

Author's Note

First things first, I know Asia's Twilight Healing could evolve into the form naturally and the evolution scene of her Sacred Gear is one of the scenes I'm unsure about in this chapter. The reason I did this was so it was done before I could forget about it and I think Asia would need the push to get the form she has now. The other scene I wasn't sure about was the meeting between the Devils and Church group although that's more to do with how Xenovia comes across.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the next chapter. I will point out that this is the shortest chapter so far for this and I'd like to thank Zanark Sathanus for helping with deciding the familiars for the Bune peerage.

...

Kazuhiko hummed pleased after taking a sip of his tea as he split his attention between it and the chess game going on against Sona, using his [Mist Flames] to move the pieces as needed given that both of his hands were in use with the cup and saucer.

"How have the two Exorcists settled in?" Sona asked as she looked over the chess board, Kazuhiko glancing at the board himself as he answered "They've settled in well, I think. Shidou Irina-san is getting along well with myself and Asia-san more then Quarta Xenovia-san. Even caught the pair offering lessons in swordsmanship to Murayama-san and Katase-san."

Sona nodded pleased as she moved her piece. They had both agreed that it was best for Kazuhiko to keep an eye on the pair, hence why they were added to his class. That and Kazuhiko and Isane were the only devils in that class so the exorcists would be less likely to act up against them.

"Speaking of... how are those two girls doing with their training?" Sona asked curiously, Kazuhiko looking over the board as he answered "They are both picking it up easier then I expected, I think a talk with them hit home so they are taking to heart how powerful imagination can be. Last night they were easily forming light katana without the hilts Sam-chan gave them when they first awakened them. Nagi-chan has also told me their lessons with her Sensei is going well so I wouldn't be surprised if they become aces of the Kendo Club sooner rather then later. That's not to mention Nagi also said that her Sensei thought they might both have ties with one of the Five Principal Clans."

Sona's lips twitched in amusement as Kazuhiko moved his piece, wondering how the pair of second years would react when they realised that had become the case. Her own [Knight], Tomoe Meguri, had realised it after a month of training as a Devil and had to quit the [Kendo Club] as it was rather hard for her to hold back her speed during spars with them. She was surprised that Murayama and Katase might possibly be connected to one of the Clans that had ties with the Shinto Gods just like Tsubaki and Akeno although that made it seem more unusual that neither was aware of the supernatural before Kazuhiko had introduced them into it.

"Do they know which clans or is it...?" Sona started to ask, Kazuhiko shaking his head as he replied "Not at the moment. It would take looking into their families, seeing as their fathers died when they were young, and I figure its not important enough to tell them until we're sure they inherited any spiritual element."

"Anyway, I assume you wanted to talk to me for something more then just an update? Otherwise we could have done this at lunch." Kazuhiko asked curiously, Sona nodding as she replied "I figured I should inquire if you were planning to go to the Familiar Forest this upcoming full moon as I figure you have more need for it then I do."

"Ah, that's right. Baa-san has made an appointment for my peerage to go this time round." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, "After all, we all need familiars even if we've been fine without them for so long but it would save having the girls delivering leaflets any longer."

Sona nodded in understanding, moving her piece as she spoke "Check. Well, on the occasion that we need to attend to something important Rias and I used our groups' to act as body doubles for us."

"Suppose that's a good reason to get one then." Kazuhiko mused, looking over the board to see what moves he could make while Sona nodded as she added "Also there is one more thing I wanted to ask you."

"Oh?" Kazuhiko asked, looking up from the board as Sona continued "Did Lady Bune receive the request and offer from my Father about getting a training room of our own set up in the Sitri Manor?"

"Yeah. I saw that as she handed that off to me with her own comments." Kazuhiko commented in thought, moving his [Knight] to take out the [Queen] that had him in check and surprising the Sitri heiress as he continued "We've agreed to it but as I or Baasan can't just take my Jiisan through a transportation circle straight into the Underworld without ignoring the normal protocol for it, and his own busy schedule I've requested if its installation could be delayed a bit till the upcoming [Young Devil Gathering] this summer. Of course, we'll ensure to install it before the first meeting for it so as to not hinder your group or appear to but it'll probably have to be kept secret lest it appear we're favouring the [Sitri Clan]."

Sona nodded in understanding, pleased that she would be able to use the new training room for the important event and the Rating Games that would follow it. There was only a few more moves made by the pair before Sona declared "Checkmate" ending the game and the meeting between the two [Kings].

...

Ddraig smirked within the mental plane of his current host, his eyes focused on the large screen that showed him the outside world that Irina had created as part of their connection. He had quickly become amused at the chestnut haired girl's growing curiosity with the young man known as Kazuhiko Bune, unaware that the Devil/Dragon/Kyuubi Hybrid was already the mate of the three part Dragons in his peerage and had been through the rite for it. It would be funny to see how potent the brunet's [Dragon Tamer] talent was and how it would continue to affect his host.

Ddraig would admit he had a grudging interest in the young man as well. After all, it was hard to believe that someone at his level of strength was incorporating the creativity of humans into his own fighting style and growth. It was an ingenious move on the brunet's part especially as Devil's magic revolved around the user's imagination, something the young man had in spades.

[I don't see why you won't loosen up around them.] Ddriag heard his host speak up as she and Xenovia walked back towards the church, [We are here to see if peace can work between our factions.]

[I know that Irina but it still would be foolish to lower our guard around them.] Xenovia retorted, [I mean the Bune one is training those two girls to join his harem of slaves.]

[Kazuhiko-san isn't like that. Murayama-san and Katase-san even said he's never asked any of his peerage to join him.] Irina countered, Ddraig smothering his chuckle at how quickly his host came to the Bune heir's defence.

[Well, he would convince them of that. Devils are deceitful and manipulative beings and he could be subtle about encouraging them to join.] Xenovia pointed out, Irina rolling her eyes as she spoke [Ddraig, help me out here.]

 **[I agree with you, partner. The Bune devil doesn't seem the sort to act like other devils with how he admires human animation and what about his past is known due to the [Tournament of Kings].]** Ddraig spoke up, opening the link so that his voice came out of the green jewel of the [Boosted Gear].

Xenovia huffed as Irina beamed a smile at her hand, Ddraig looking amused at his host's feelings and thoughts he could hear.

...

"So, can you tell me what happened to Asia-san's [Sacred Gear]?" Griselda asked curiously before sipping at her tea as she looked at Kazuhiko who sat opposite her. The two were in the training room, watching the gathering of his peerage, Asia, Murayama, Katase, Xenovia and Irina all training in various parts of the room.

"Well a few of my peerage decided to take advantage of the fact the system turns all attacks into illusions here and made her belief that she in mortal danger and aided her to evolve [Twilight Healing] into a more potent form quicker then the training she was doing would result in." Kazuhiko explained sheepishly, Griselda turning to see Asia working at guiding the angel charms around as Kazuhiko continued, "From what we've figured out those twelve angel charms allow her to heal someone as long as one touches her target and can also allow her to use [Enhancement Magic] on a person through them. Also together they can form powerful barriers for her own protection."

"That sounds like a very impressive upgrade for her powers. Where did you get the idea for it?" Griselda asked, Kazuhiko offering her a smile as he answered "There's a young woman with similar power albeit her form of healing focuses on rejecting that the injuries ever happened which means she can reform limbs easily within a specific barrier she can produce with six spirits taking the form of hair-clips and is similar to Asia-san in that she doesn't want to hurt people and focuses on defence."

"I can see how you'd link that to Asia-san." Griselda hummed in agreement as she sipped her tea, she could understand the parallels that Kazuhiko was drawing between this character and sweet Asia and agreed that the blonde would probably have difficulty with offensive magic due to her kindness.

"I take it that you did this sort of thing with the rest of your peerage?" Griselda asked curiously, Kazuhiko nodding sheepishly as he replied "It wasn't my intention when I first started to help people become stronger. I originally only did it for myself, took about a month or so to collate all that [Fire Magic] for myself when I was a kid. I ended up suggesting some ideas to my [Queen] when we first sparred and that lead to me showing her clips so she could start to recreate the moves. After the success there it just made sense to continue doing it to give those we helped a good basis and ideas for how to use their powers."

"I imagine some didn't take such direction well." Griselda mused, Kazuhiko nodding as he replied "Yeah. Mostly those older then me at the time thought it was just me being childish."

...

Once the trio of exorcists had left along with Murayama and Katase, Kazuhiko gathered the rest of his peerage in the office where Rykeoss was waiting for them. The [Lady Bune] waiting for the girls to take their seats before she started to speak "This upcoming full moon you'll be going to the familiar forest for familiars. Admittedly, this is long overdue for most of you but given we wanted to keep a low profile..."

Rykeoss smiled at seeing the nods of understanding from the girls, aside from Isane, as Kazuhiko then added "Take the time to look through the 'Book of Familiars' for ideas on what you want seeing as we'll only have one night to do it and probably need to split up into groups. With that you can enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Right." Kazuhiko's peerage spoke in agreement before leaving the office to spend the evening on their own things and leaving Kazuhiko and his grandmother in the office.

"Let's make a start on another lesson." Rykeoss spoke with a eager smirk, making Kazuhiko gulp nervously as he nodded and the pair transported away into the training room to work on his [Dragonification].

Rykeoss smiled as they both used magic to change into some training clothes, watching her grandson limber up before she spoke "Let's start with Wyvern."

Kazuhiko closed his eyes for a moment in thought before parts of his body started to grow as he started to be covered in black scales. His arms turning into dragon wings first before his neck lengthened and a long tail formed behind him as the rest of his body changed to fit with his Wyvern Form, leaning forwards on the large single claw at the joint of his wings to balance himself. The underside of Kazuhiko's body was a dark tan while his claws were gleaming white and atop of his head was two dark red horns that curved backwards in line with his angular dragonic head starting from his eyes. Rykeoss knew the form was pretty much based on the [Red-Eyes Wyvern] which still had Kazuhiko's eyes and the dragon images he'd filtered through had been part of the reason her grandson had been able to work on these exercises easier then she had when she was his age.

She had also made sure to drill into her grandson's head that the [Bune Clan's] ability for taking on a [Dragon Form] was in fact misleading as once a Bune had attained a [Dragon Form] they thought that was only one they could take. She had proven them wrong during her own intense training and during the [Civil War], learning that as long as she could imagine the [Dragon Form] she wanted to take, changing into it was possible as long as it was of similar size and mass to their first form which made her mastery even more impressive due to what she had personally accomplished and wished to pass onto her grandson especially after seeing him come up with and use the [Dragon Force]. Kazuhiko's [Dragon Force] was in truth only a partial transformation into a Dragon of just portions of his body to give himself a modest power up that the body could handle by being a mixture of Devil and Dragon although didn't match what a Dragon could do. The areas that were changed were his arms, legs and portions of his torso, neck and lastly eyes and the scales showing was the visible signs for it and was truthfully just a mixture of skin and muscle changing along with his eyes and other senses.

"Good. Eastern Dragon." Rykeoss called after looking over her grandson's form to ensure there wasn't any imperfections with her five sets of wings on display, all morphed into her dragon versions to show dark jade scales covered them and the tan membrane inside.

"Right." Kazuhiko spoke, his move more gravelly then normal as his main body started to squeeze as it lengthened. His wings folding into his body before slender clawed arms appeared under him to support his body, matching the pair at the back. Kazuhiko's colouring remained identical to before while his head became less angular and gained a definite nose and his horns shortened slightly to give him a passing resemblance to [Naturia Barkion].

"Multi-head. How has your personal training been going?" Rykeoss asked as the change occurred, aiming to help Kazuhiko learn to multitask with the changing forms as Kazuhiko started "Slowly but steady."

Kazuhiko body started to contract into a traditional Western Dragon's body, his legs widening and strengthening so he could stand on them while two extra heads came out from the shoulder to match the shortened length of Kazuhiko's neck as he continued "I've managed to make progress on the [Transformation Jutsu] and geared it towards helping me change Dragon forms. The [Shadow Clones Jutsu] is a pain to create as while I can create a copy its too weak to be of use and that's not to mention about the trouble I'm having imbuing it with the spark of intelligence to work and the link to transfer knowledge back to me upon its dispelling. And I haven't worked on [Sage Mode] yet."

Rykeoss smiled pleased as she looked over the tri-headed dragon form of Kazuhiko that stood in front of her on its hind legs, based on [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] rather then the normal Hydras he had seen pictures of, nodding pleased as she spoke "That's good. I take it you've asked Yasaka and your grandfather's help for it."

"I am." Kazuhiko replied in three identical voices, one from each head, Rykeoss stifling her chuckle as all three heads nodded as one, showing he still hadn't got use to the idea of having three heads, three voices and six eyes in that form.

"Let's do some target practice in this form then." Rykeoss spoke, creating three magic circles which rose up identical pillars of some sort of black metal. Kazuhiko's multiple eyes furrowed in concentration as he focused on the pillars as he waited for his grandmother to say "Middle pillar, left head."

Kazuhiko moved his left head to take aim, the three heads all taking a deep breathe before fire spewed out of the left head as the other two clamped their jaws shut to stop the flames come out from their mouths. Rykeoss frowned as she started to instruct him "Remember. Treat your other heads like your hands in this form and breathing fire like focusing your internal flames through the channel like when you use magic. Now, left pillar right head,"

Kazuhiko's middle head nodded a few times before his right head moved forwards to take aim, rearing back slightly as it took a deep breathe, while the other two heads' mouths remained closed, before spewing flames at the correct target. Rykeoss had him continue the exercise till she was sure he could at least control which head he used to fire his flames.

...

The blue and purple transportation circle appeared in a clearing of a dark forest in the Underworld that was simply known as the Familiar Forest. It flashed brightly once causing the Bune peerage to appear standing atop of it before it faded from sight, leaving the group looking around curiously before Hiromi asked "Weren't we supposed to meet a guide here?"

"Yeah..." Kazuhiko answered with a frown, looking around for any sign of their guide.

"Get Daze!" A male voice called, followed by a surprised yelp as the owner had to dodge several blasts of magic from Hiromi, Rhiannon and Daphne. Kazuhiko and the others turning to see the weirdly dressed devil pinned to the tree by ice spears, drenched in water and singed slightly.

"M-My name is Satooji of M-Madara Town! I'm a devil in training, aiming to b-become the Familiar Master!" The strange devil stammered out fearfully, Kazuhiko sighing as the three girls cancelled their magic as he spoke "Next time, don't try and surprise people otherwise you might not survive if they if they don't aim to disable."

"Y-Yes Heir Bune." Satooji spoke as he brushed down his clothes, coughing into his hand before he continued "I take it Heir Bune that these ladies all need familiars."

"That's right, along with myself." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, Satooji nodding thoughtfully before asking "Are you looking for anything specific?"

"These are ideally what the girls are after." Kazuhiko answered with a nod as he pulled a list from his pocket and handed it over to the Familiar Master-in-training, Satooji looking over it surprised before nodding "Most of these will be fairly easy to find. The Amarok, Firebird and Thunderbird will be harder to find and the Hydra while easy to find will be hard to tame."

"That's fine. I prefer the challenge." Hiromi retorted with a shrug, Satooji sweatdropping as he cleared his throat and continued "There's a portion of the forest where I can lead you to which most of these can be found around as its abundant with fruit and often has lower level familiars which some predators prefer to hunt."

"Lead the way then." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod, Satooji grinning as the spun and started walking ahead, the group set off to follow him with Kazuhiko and Diana in the lead.

...

An hour walk resulted in the Bune group arriving at a large garden-like area with various fruit trees, vegetables and flowers around. Satooji was leading them into the clearing before turning to face them as he spoke "This is the Tranquil Gardens, home to low level familiars and herbivores. The areas around here usually hold their predators if you walk about half an hour away from here."

"So, we'll have to split up from here." Kazuhiko spoke with a nod and turned to the group as he added "Everyone try and not go too far away and if you get into trouble shoot demonic energy into the sky and those nearest head towards them when you see it. Alright?"

"Alright." Most of the girls replied with nods of agreement, Martina, Daphne and Hiromi staying back as the others looking around before heading off in smaller groups: Nagi and Jessica, Samantha and Diana and finally Lucile, Rhiannon and Isane.

"The Thunderbirds live on the mountain over there where storms usually occur." Satooji spoke as he pointed towards an imposing mountain that had storm clouds over the top before he pointed in another direction as he added "Snow Dragons tend to be alone but are never too far from others around the snowy forest towards ravine up north while Sea Serpents tend to favour the large bodies of warm water South but be wary as Hydras are also found there."

"Be especially careful you three." Kazuhiko spoke to them, Hiromi giving him a smirk before waving as she left before Daphne spoke calmly "I didn't plan to put myself in danger with it being my night, Kazu-sama."

"Don't worry, I'll come back if I get in trouble." Martina replied reassuringly before she and Daphne left in their own directions.

Kazuhiko waited till the whole of his peerage had gone before turning back the way they had came. He had spotted something following during the last quarter of their journey here but it had been something he barely noticed even with his [Senjutsu] at work.

The two young men turned at the sound of the soft rustle of leaves, Kazuhiko spotted a ripple in the air like heat before it formed into a ghostly ball of white flames and floated towards him as Satooji spoke "A Kitsunebi?"

Holding out a hand, Kazuhiko smiled as the flame landed onto his hand before rippling and turning into a bright orange fox cub with white socks, underside and tips of its ears and tail. Its black eyes locked onto his blue-purple orbs before letting out a happy yip and rushing up his arm to nuzzle against his cheek while sitting on his shoulder.

"That was surprisingly easy." Satooji spoke blinking at the pair, Kazuhiko chuckling as he let his ears and tails out and reminding the familiar master-in-training that he was part Kyuubi.

"Now just need to come up with a name for you, little one." Kazuhiko uttered, using a finger to scratch behind its ears and unaware of the other eyes watching him from the bushes.

...

Jessica casually walked in front of Nagi as the pair left the clearing, the former speaking up curiously with her arms casually behind her head, "I wonder if we'll run into any pups quickly."

"Well, I imagine that dogs wouldn't be too hard to find here, just the specific breed would be tricky." Nagi mused aloud as the pair walked, Jessica nodding in agreement as she looked around the trail they were on. They continued to walk and make small talk as they looked around for the dogs they were after.

A low whine and a sharp bark drew the pair's attention, Nagi arriving to see a snowy white Akita lying on the ground with a bloody wound in its side by defended by a black wolf that was roughly the same size and had some singe marks from a large reptilian-like creature that could pass as some sort of feral kimodo dragon.

Nagi unsheathed her sword first, releasing a wave of water to block the reptile's blast of flames aimed at the pair. Jessica leapt forwards while it was distracted, slamming a fist down to strike the head and knock it unconscious.

"That was fairly easy to stop." Jessica retorted, turning to see Nagi had already sheathed her sword and was kneeling to help the Akita with a small amount of water in her hands. The wolf growled at the brunette before making to jump and snap at Nagi, only for Jessica to pluck it up by grabbing the scruff of its neck and lifting it to meet her gaze as she spoke "Don't do that."

The wolf pup tilted its head at her before licking her nose, Jessica jerking back in surprise as Nagi tittered "Looks like she likes you."

Jessica turned to see Nagi holding the Akita, bandages around its torso as it happily sat in her arms before rolling her eyes "Well, I did want a wolf hound but I think a wolf will do. Looks like you've got yours as well."

"Of course. The fact they were protecting each other was a good sign as well." Nagi spoke with a soft smile as she hugged the injured Akita, Jessica's smile growing as she moved the wolf pup into her arms as she agreed with a nod, "Yeah, you're right there."

...

"How has your work with [War Forge] been going?" Diana asked the buxom greenette as they walked in search of their familiars, Samantha looking around nervously as she answered "I'm managing to slowly study the powers of [Excalibur Mimic] at the moment, so I can develop my own version. Irina-san doesn't mind talking or showing me how to use it but obviously won't let me study the blade up close."

"It's understandable they wouldn't want us learning more about the [Excalibur Fragments]..." Diana spoke with a nod, "I mean you developed your [Destruction] between stories of its power and creating various destructive swords using the aid of your [Runes] as well. That's impressive in itself, Sam."

Samantha ducked her head at the praise, even as a small smile played on her lips before the pair turned at hearing a branch snap in one direction. Both easily fell into a fighting stance, Samantha creating a sword on instinct while Diana created a large claw made of shadows over her whole right arm.

The pair waited to see if there was any more movement before a pair of fur-balls tumbled out of the bushes, the pair relaxing as they realised it was just a white tiger cub and a sandy brown liger cub seemingly play fighting.

"Well would you look at that." Diana spoke surprised as the pair relaxed, Samantha blinking as she commented surprised "That's really lucky."

"Let's grab them quickly then." Diana suggested, the pair dismissing their weapons as they started to chase after the two cubs who seemed to treat the pair as new players in whatever game they were playing.

...

"I can't believe you two found your familiars so quickly." Isane grumbled as she walked in front of Lucile and Rhiannon. Lucile had an large chameleon on her shoulder with gleaming yellow, intelligent eyes and currently crimson coloured scales while Rhiannon had a regal firebird on her opposite shoulder with mostly red and gold feathers.

"Its probably easier for us as mine's a bird and Luci's a lizard that's easy enough to find in this forest while you're after a bat." Rhiannon retorted, Isane huffing as they made their way towards one the cliff wall in hopes of finding a cave that might house some bats.

"Rhian's right, Isane. Bats probably aren't very active here unless most of the other familiars are asleep given how they feed." Lucile pointed out. Isane sighed as she nodded "Suppose I'll have to just pick what I can get. I was hoping to get a shape-shifting one like Kokoa's."

Rhiannon and Lucile shared an amused look at Isane's words before the trio heard the sound of dozens of wings flapping above them. Turning their gaze skywards, Isane grinned as they saw a large swarm of bats flying overhead away from the cliff wall they was heading towards.

"Let's get moving before they all leave." Isane spoke with a grin to her two fellow [Pawns], leading the charge forwards in the hopes of managing to grab one of the bats to be her own familiar unaware that she was being followed by a cartoonish looking bat.

...

Daphne breathed out a heated breathe as she flew towards the snowing area of forest which was over a wide ravine, her gaze on the ground as she looked around for a Snow Dragon. The reason she wanted one as her familiar was simply because she could see it helping her with her magic as, while not obvious, it was affected by the surrounding weather when she used it and Snow Dragons produced an cold aura around them to prevent them suffering in the heat.

'Plus, I imagine it would be really cool to be standing atop of an adult Snow Dragon when facing down some opponent in a Rating Game.' Daphne thought with a smirk as she decided to land, quickly using her magic to change into her battle clothes as they had temperature regulation built into them.

"Ice Make: Wyverns!" Daphne called with a wave of her arm, using an idea from Kazuhiko for herself as a dozen magic circle opening up around her to disgorge dog-sized wyverns. With a simple command, Daphne sent them off into the forest in random directions to speed up the search as she moved to lean against a tree to wait.

"That was quick." Daphne thought aloud as she turned towards the direction one of her Ice Wyverns had found a Snow Dragon only after five minutes, starting to jog towards it while mentally directing the other wyverns to head in the same direction and help avoid the Snow Dragon getting away as she cast "Ice Make: Snow Tiger!"

With the large ice tiger appearing at her side, Daphne jumped onto its back to help her arrive at the clearing quickly only for her eyes to widen in shock at seeing a giant Amarok (giant grey furred wolf that was from Inuit mythology and said to stalk and devour any person foolish enough to hunt alone at night) towering over a young Snow Dragon, a snow white bipedal dragon with small wings and icy blue eyes.

"Go get him." Daphne ordered as she hopped off the ice tiger so it could pounce forwards to attack the Amarok, getting smacked aside by a giant paw before the Wyverns swooped in to attack but seeming more like a distraction as it swatted and snapped at them.

Daphne took the chance that showed itself as she rushed forwards to grab and pick up the snow dragon before jumping back to dodge the giant paw that had tried to strike her, one hand pointed at her target as she cast her next spell, "Weissschnabel!"

Dozens of large icicles appeared in thin air around and in front of Daphne, a flick of her wrist all she needed to launch them at the Amarok, striking various parts of his body and make it recoil in pain from the numerous scratches.

'My [Ice Magic] isn't as effective as normal due to it being use to the cold and it obvious having hunted tough enemies before. Time to break out one of the newer spells.' Daphne thought as she clicked her tongue, aiming a hand at the Amarok only for it to throw itself out of the way as it continued to charge at her. Daphne snorted taking to the air on her wings as she moved her hand to above her, conjuring a giant magic circle above her as she called out "Malleus Aquilonis!"

The 'Hammer of the Ice God' spell took the form of a giant boulder of ice that formed out of the magic circle, Daphne swinging her arm down to send the crushing force of ice at the Amarok and making it retreat as the ice boulder destroyed a few nearby trees before it crashed into the ground, sending up a cloud of snow and debris. Floating in the air for a few moments, Daphne released her hold on the Snow Dragon only to find it continued to cling to her chest much to her embarrassment as she retorted sternly "Come on, let go. Only one guy gets to do that."

The Snow Dragon looked up at her before reluctantly letting go, flapping its small wings to keep in the air as Daphne looked around for any sign of danger before she spoke "I take it you want to come with me?"

At a nod from the small dragon, Daphne smirked pleased before gesturing for it to follow her as she started to fly back towards the clearing they had split up from.

...

Hiromi let her wings retract as she landed before the large lake of water she had been pointed to by Satooji, her eyes taking in the sight before her as she mused aloud "Now I just need to see about finding a sea snake so I can prove I can find the better familiar compared to hothead."

She crouched down to dip a hand into the water, using a pulse of her magic to see what was within the lake as well as how deep it was. Her eyes widened slightly at picking up the numerous beings inside the lake before she stood up and used her magic to change into her battle clothes before stepping out onto the water, using her magic to manipulate the water under her feet so she could walk upon it with little trouble.

The loud stomps and crashes headed towards her made Hiromi wary, letting go of her control of the water out of instinct and using the deep nature to allow herself to hide underneath it as she waited to see what came out as she lay several feet underwater. What loomed over the lake was nine large dragonic heads which Hiromi recognised as an adult Hydra before gently pushing herself deeper in the water to avoid being spotted as it slithered towards the water's edge.

The adult Hydra looked around before lowering its heads towards the water, Hiromi deciding it was better to act now as she cast mentally 'Yamata no Orochi!'

Eight water dragon heads burst out of the water, surprising the Hydra, and attacked in an attempt to drive off the Hydra, Hiromi using it as a distraction to take to the air so she could watch the fight and see if she could find a smaller Hydra to tame. The bluenette's eyes widened as she had to dodge the stream of poison its remaining free head spat at her.

"Water Lock." Hiromi countered with, creating a giant ball of water around the Hydra using the water of her previous attack. Her hands were held in front of her to help her focus the sphere of water and prevent it breaking apart with the Hydra's thrashing, intending to only knock it out rather then end the monster. She waited till the Hydra's movement stilled before dispersing the water, letting its heads crash onto the ground as she took a calming breathe and muttered "Now need to see if I can make it my familiar or..."

Hiromi trailed off as her gaze caught the sight of a baby Hydra with three heads slinking out from the undergrowth, her eyes softening at the rather cute creature before deciding to try and get the baby as her familiar as she flew down to get close, materialising the needed circle under the baby to start the spell to make it her familiar.

...

Martina had taken to the air once she had the direction, flying towards the mountains while taking note of the dark clouds and the rumble of thunder she could see and hear. She wasted no time changing into her battle uniform to avoid soaking her teacher's clothes she had worn before. Her ruby orbs scanned the air in search of anything flying as she entered the storm, dodging a lightning bolt that shot down near to her before looking up to see a giant bird with three sets of wings flying overhead, its body covered in stormy grey feathers that made it hard to spot against the clouds above it.

'That's one big Thunderbird.' Martina thought amazed, having only seen pictures in the book of familiars when she was deciding what to go after. Another bolt of lightning shot down at her from the Thunderbird, Martina countering with her own bolt which made a nearly deafening crack of thunder to be heard when they clashed. The Thunderbird screeched as it circled above Martina once before diving at her and making the ravenette swoop out of the way to avoid getting pierced through by long and razor-sharp talons.

"Thunder!" Martina called, throwing a hand up to guide a thunderbolt from the storm around them into the Thunderbird's back and knocking it out of the way when it next tried to swoop at her, making it screech at her as she retorted "Sorry birdie... but I'm only here to find a familiar."

The Thunderbird paused at hearing that, leaning its head to the right as she looked over Martina, who was still on guard as its powerful wings sent large gusts of air at her. It started to relax as Martina did, the sparks of left over lightning in her hands fading as the Thunderbird cawed at her before swinging its head towards the mountains.

"Do you want me to follow you?" Martina asked curiously, the giant bird giving a sharp nod as Martina relaxed fully and nodded back before following it towards a giant nest that was set in the cliff side. Holding back, she watched as the Thunderbird move to land into the nest and start tending to her chicks before landing on the edge.

The mother bird looked up to her for a moment before nudging one of her chicks towards Martina, the stormy grey chick moving slowly towards the Italian young woman who crouched down to have a better look as she cooed "You're adorable, aren't you?"

The chick chirped and nipped at her fingers before moving closer so Martina could stroke its feathers much to its enjoyment. The half fallen lifted her gaze to see the mother was looking at her as if waiting before she asked "You want me to take this cutie with me?"

A single nod answered Martina's question, convincing her to scoop up the chick before she offered a happy smile to the mother and bowed her head as she spoke "Thank you. I'll take good care of this little one."

The mother gave a nod before sweeping a wing out as if telling Martina to leave, getting a nod from her as she took to the air and headed back towards the meeting point.

...

Satooji stared in shock at Kazuhiko as he was tickled by multiple bundles of fur clambering over his body, surprised that someone could find multiple familiars so easily. It had turned out that they hadn't been followed by one Kitsunebi but seven identical kits, the other six having come out after their leader had called out to the bushes it had came from.

"Okay, you lot... Stop it before the girls come back." Kazuhiko spoke between his laughs, one kitsunebi yipping before the others all stopped as the seven of them all got off of him and lined up in front of him.

Satooji looked impressed only to jump in surprise as Jessica and Nagi entered the clearing, each holding their familiars in their arms. The others of the Bune peerage arrived soon after in their groups, Satooji blinking in surprise at seeing some of the familiars that they had chosen and was even shocked at seeing a Firebird, Thunderbird, Snow Dragon and even a baby Hydra amongst them.

"Looks like you were all successful girls." Kazuhiko spoke with a smile, letting his gaze drift over the group of familiars as Diana smirked at seeing the group of Kitsunebi at his feet "You seem more successful then us though."

The Kitsunebi wagged their tails happily as they seemed to puff up their chests as Kazuhiko explained "These little ones came out to meet with me after you girls left for your own searches."

"Have you done the familiar binding spell?" Satooji asked the group, drawing embarrassed looks as they had forgotten about it while being busy searching and also getting back. He sweatdropped as the Bune peerage all started to cast it on their chosen familiars, thankful that they were all successful.

...

"So, this is where you are?" Tatsumi chuckled as he slid his arms around his wife from behind, watching the group of familiars settle down in the garden.

Rykeoss smiled amused at her husband's words as she looked at the menagerie of familiars that her grandson and his peerage had came back with. She knew that both the Snow Dragon and baby Hydra would be the more troublesome to deal with as they grew up but it seemed Kazuhiko's pack of Kitsunebi had already been making friends with the others.

"You know, its the first time I've seen a baby Hydra back down around a Kitsunebi as well." Rykeoss retorted at seeing one of the kits scold the baby Hydra with a series of adorable yet stern sounding 'yips' for trying to bite the Samantha's white tiger cub. Another Kitsunebi was being a cuddle-buddy with the tiger cub to calm it down while the other five were making friends with the other familiars.

"Well, they have to be special for wanting Kazu-kun given the story I heard about what happened." Tatsumi spoke with a chuckle, Rykeoss joining in for a few minutes before she asked "How are things in Kyoto?"

"Peaceful for the moment... How are things in the Underworld?" Tatsumi replied, raising an eyebrow curiously as Rykeoss sighed as she answered "I've been fending off more attempts to meet with Kazu-kun or make offers to him. Although I'll soon have to head to Brazil as the network found a woman there who is looking to be a Half Devil and possibly a Valefor given that she's a cat-burglar."

"That'd be another Clan you'll have returned with your project." Tatsumi spoke with a chuckle before sobering as he added "Don't worry. I'm sure Kazu-kun and the others can keep things safe here and I'll even keep an eye on them when I'm not in Kyoto."

"Thanks." Rykeoss replied with a smile to him.

...

A brown haired woman hummed as she sat opposite her pink haired friend, both of them swirling half full wine glasses as they reminisced about their own childhood before the latter spoke up "I suppose you've noticed a change in Murayama?"

"Yes..." The brunette replied before taking a sip of wine to gather her thoughts "I think they both have found out about the Supernatural."

"It was bound to happen though. I mean there was two heiresses in that Academy when they both started and we've both heard how they talk about that new group who has transferred in a while ago." The pinkette pointed out before taking a sip of her own wine, the brunette sighing as she replied "I suppose so. When do you want to tell them?"

"Let's wait till the weekend. That way they have the time to ask us all the questions they want and come to terms with it." The pinkette answered before sipping at her wine as the brunette nodded in agreement.

...

Author's Note

I will admit the cliffhanger at the end here was something of a last minute decision despite having plans for a reveal for Katase and Murayama to occur either some point before or during the opening of the Excalibur Arc. I haven't fully decided on how the additions will aid the pair yet but currently seem to mainly be passive boosts.


End file.
